Oil Operations
The configuration of our offices very quickly tells you something about the way we work at Vitol.
Our Oil Operations team members are physically located among our trading teams. They sit at the front line of the company, constantly up to speed with developments and called upon to make things happen at a moment’s notice.
It speaks volumes about the ethos of our business: a dynamic trading desk is of no significance if we do not have the support system we need to deliver our promises.
Once a deal has been struck by a trader, it sets in train a host of operational detail including administering contracts and letters of credit, assessing the quality of cargoes, invoicing, nominating vessels and appointing inspectors. Everything that affects a cargo arriving on time and on-specification affects Oil Operations.
Our ability, resources and hedging capabilities also mean we can handle issues that others very often won’t; for example, buying off-spec cargo, identifying its value, assessing it and blending it. We are also known for our ability to solve problems, such as the seemingly insurmountable logistical issues created by the hurricane season in the Caribbean.
At the heart of Oil Operations – and indeed every other function within Vitol – is our proprietary trading and operations system. Designed and built to our own best-in-class specification, this fully integrated MIS system is Vitol’s backbone, from trading and exposure reporting to P&L and risk management.
• Engineers overseeing the loading of a tanker in our Fujairah Terminal – a link in a chain of actions triggered by a deal struck by a trader in Geneva and managed by the oil operations team.