Gunvor Group, a leading independent oil trader, achieved a record volume of crude oil and petroleum products in the first half of 2024, primarily due to a surge in U.S. oil transactions, according to chairman Torbjörn Törnqvist in an interview with Bloomberg.
The company handled 79 million tons of crude and products during this period, surpassing previous records. This increase is largely attributed to Gunvor’s expanding role in U.S. oil and product trades.
“We have built a significant export business out of North America, despite having started only three or four years ago,” Törnqvist said at the APPEC conference in Singapore.
Gunvor continues to grow its presence in the U.S. while also strengthening its markets in Europe and Asia.
Over the past two turbulent years in the energy market, Gunvor accumulated over $6 billion in equity and retained earnings. This financial boost enables the company and other major traders to either expand their operations or explore new investment opportunities.
Many leading energy traders are using their newfound capital to acquire refineries that major international oil and gas companies are selling as part of strategic realignments.
Despite its trading successes, Gunvor remains cautious about global oil demand in 2024. Törnqvist noted that the company anticipates an increase of only 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in oil demand this year, a much slower rate than earlier projections.
This forecast aligns with the conservative estimate of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and is half of the 2 million bpd growth predicted by OPEC.