Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, is shutting down its international oil trading operations, according to a Reuters report. Moving forward, Pilot Co, the company involved, will focus solely on fuel retail.
Citing multiple unnamed sources, the report said Pilot Co has laid off almost all of its employees and is shifting its attention back to its core business in the U.S. Berkshire Hathaway acquired a stake in Pilot Co in 2017 and expanded its involvement in international oil trading thereafter.
Initially, Berkshire bought a 39% stake in Pilot Co, later increasing its share to 80% by 2023. Last year, Berkshire acquired the remaining 20%. Reuters reported that at that time, Pilot Co began downsizing its oil trading operations, laying off 15 employees, including a vice president. Pilot Co President Gary Hoogeveen told Reuters, “Our core capabilities are focused on delivering reliable fuel supply to our travel centers and customers across North America.”
Berkshire Hathaway remains a significant player in traditional energy and renewable technologies. Warren Buffett famously stated around ten years ago that the only reason to invest in wind power was for tax incentives.
In other news, Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum, sparking speculation of a potential takeover. However, Buffett dismissed the rumors last year, saying, “There’s speculation about us buying control, we’re not going to buy control. We wouldn’t know what to do with it.” While no acquisition has been announced, Buffett’s company purchased an additional 8.9 million shares of Occidental in December, increasing its total stake to over 28%.
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