Gas Oil & Jet
To be successful in middle distillates requires excellent market intelligence: of consumer and environmental trends, and of country and regional imbalances of supply.
For example, there have been deficits in the supply of automotive diesel fuels in Europe and the US, as drivers have been attracted by the vastly improved performance and fuel economy of diesel cars. This trend has reduced the flexibility of the refiner to optimise middle distillate production, creating imbalances in worldwide supply. This, together with diverse worldwide growth rates, has made global arbitrage a structural feature of the market.
Vitol is one of the world’s leading traders in middle distillates, with exceptional expertise in global arbitrage business. Drawing on our global resources and expertise in the US, South America, Europe and Asia, we are ideally placed to move cargoes and realise the opportunities arising from regional and global imbalances. For example, we have moved considerable volumes of low-sulphur diesel from Asia, where requirements are lower, and placed them into the European markets of Germany and the Netherlands, which demand cleaner products. Our acute local knowledge of specifications and demand pays dividends in achieving better trading performance.
As the world insists on cleaner sources of energy, Vitol is also becoming a significant player in biodiesel. This is a rapidly growing sector; we believe that many diesel fuel markets will be biodiesel within the next few years. Vitol is gearing up accordingly, already offering a full range of fuels from B5 to B100, using only sustainable oils.
Our middle distillates trading is supported by Vitol’s expertise and depth of resources in storage based in Singapore, the Middle East, the US and a network of locations throughout Europe. This is particularly important in jet fuel, where stringent global specifications demand the highest standards in storage and shipping to ensure full compliance. We supply airlines throughout the world, and will increasingly sharpen our focus on this sector, adding value through our wealth of experience in handling physical products.
• Vitol currently supplies airlines throughout the world and will look to concentrate further on this sector in the future, as it naturally fits with Vitol’s experience and expertise in handling physical products.