Can Exxon And Chevron Master Oil Trading? It Won’t Be Easy
US oil companies are envious of how much money their European peers are making from trading oil and gas. But do they have the stomach for it?
Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergUS executives in Big Oil tend to look down on their European rivals. They may not say it publicly, but the bigwigs at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. believe they run superior enterprises. There is, however, one piece of the business that the Europeans have mastered and the Americans very much envy — oil and gas trading.
European majors Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE and BP Plc are best known for their oilfields, refineries and gas stations. But all three also have Wall Street-like trading units taking speculative positions on the prices of oil, gas and power, making billions of dollars each year in much the same way as hedge funds generate profits.