World’s Largest Oil Traders Seeks Foray into Metals

Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, is hedging its bets and seeks to expand into metals crucial for the energy transition, including copper, iron ore, and aluminum, CEO Russell Hardy told the Financial Times Commodities Asia Summit in Singapore.

“The petroleum, the oil business, we still think it will reach a peak at some point, about 10 years ahead from where we are today,” Hardy said.

In view of the expected peak in oil demand and the surge in electrification, Vitol will seek where its edge in metals trading will be.

The oil and energy trader bought a metals business in the 1990s, Euromin, which it sold ten years ago.

“Metals is an area that is going to have a great deal of growth through the electrification phase,” Hardy said at the FT energy summit.

Vitol and its top executive still see about 10 years of oil demand growth globally.

Earlier this year, Hardy said that overall global demand for oil, natural gas, and coal is set to peak later than expected as the energy transition is progressing slower than initially thought. A slower pace of the energy transition will push peak oil demand beyond 2030, according to the executive.

In its 2023 volumes and review report, the privately-owned trader said in March 2024 that “Longer term, we have revised our outlook, pushing back peak oil demand by a few years to the early 2030s.”

“The pace of EV adoption has moderated and oil demand from some developing markets may be higher than anticipated,” Vitol said six months ago.

Other major energy traders are also betting on metals to boost volumes and profits amid higher demand. The top independent oil trading houses have boosted their metals and agriculture trading businesses to capture volatility in the short term and expected supply shortages in the long term.