TotalEnergies made massive profits off ME oil chaos

PARIS: TotalEnergies in March managed to buy almost all oil shipments that did not need to pass through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz, market data shows, enabling the French energy giant to make a massive profit.

The group likely made more than USD1 billion in a few weeks off the strategy, the Financial Times reported, a sum in line with estimates from experts reached by AFP.

TotalEnergies did not deny nor confirm the report when contacted by AFP, but explained that it needed to “secure supplies for itself and its customers”, noting that around 15 percent of its global hydrocarbon production is “at a standstill” in the Gulf region.

The US and Israeli attacked Iran on 28 February, leading Tehran to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic waterway through which around 20 percent of the world’s crude oil usually passes.

With supply blocked and prices soaring, TotalEnergies’ oil trading unit embarked on one of the largest purchasing operations ever undertaken by a single player.

According to public data from S&P Global Energy, TotalEnergies acquired 77 cargoes of crude oil produced in the United Arab Emirates and Oman during March, representing almost all of the 82 worldwide cargoes due for delivery in May.

The Financial Times report cited sources saying the group’s traders bought both physical consignments and financial derivatives, enabling it to make over one billion dollars in profits, a figure that is difficult to verify but which experts consider credible.