Russell Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Vito Services Ltd.
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SINGAPORE – Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy trader, is paying attention to metals markets as global oil demand is expected to peak within a decade, CEO Russell Hardy said.
“We still believe that oil, the oil industry, will peak at some point, about 10 years ahead of today’s levels,” Hardy told the Financial Times Commodities Summit in Singapore on Thursday.
He added that contrary to the eventual decline of the crude oil industry, the metals business will “grow significantly during the electrification phase”.
“So we really like the idea of participating in the larger metals markets. The three larger metals markets are steel and iron ore, copper and aluminum,” he said.
August, Vitol announces acquisition of Noble Resourcesis a Hong Kong-based trader specializing in petroleum, coal and metallurgical coke used in ironmaking. Vitol poached two metals traders in April Reuters reports from Mercuria.
This is a ten-year ambition and I’m not going to put any pressure on myself to be somewhere specific in three or five years.
Russell Hardy
CEO of Vitol Corporation
Energy trading giants such as Gunvor and Mercuria have Staying focused on metals while exploring opportunities Powered by a shift in favor of clean energy.
Critical minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium are key to the manufacturing of EV batteries, EVs, power grids and solar panels, and these components are some of the building blocks of the ecosystem driving the energy transition.
Demand for copper in particular is widely expected to grow exponentially, with possible shortages. Existing mines and projects under construction only meet Will meet 80% of copper demand by 2030According to the International Energy Agency.
Hardy admitted that scaling up the metals business to the same size as the energy sector will be a long and difficult process, adding that the metals market is a fiercely competitive market and trading companies must find their “edge” and “way out” “. “.
“This is a 10-year ambition and I’m not going to put any pressure on myself to be in a certain position in three or five years,” he said, stressing that the oil and gas business unit remains “very important” to the deal For those who speak.
Vito Corporation made huge profits In recent years, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, triggering an energy crisis in Europe.
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