Mercuria Explained

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd.
Former Names:J&S Group
Type:Private
Founders:Marco Dunand (CEO)
Daniel Jaeggi (president)
Location:Geneva, Switzerland
Industry:Commodity
Num Locations:37
Area Served:Global
Products:Raw materials
Energy products
Revenue:US$174 billion (2022)
Num Employees:1,200 (2020)

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. is a Cypriot-domiciled Swiss[1] multinational commodity trading company active in a wide spectrum of global energy markets including crude oil and refined petroleum products, natural gas (including LNG), power, biodiesel, base metals[2] and agricultural products.[3] The company is one of the world's five largest independent energy traders and asset operators and is based in Geneva, Switzerland, with 37 additional offices worldwide.[4] The group operates in 50 different countries.[5]

Mercuria was started in 2004 by Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi, then executives at Phibro, the commodities trader sold by Citigroup to Occidental Petroleum in 2009.[6] The company focused mostly on oil trading until 2007.[7] Prior to this, Mercuria was assumed control of J&S Group, which was named after the Polish businessmen Gregory Jankilevitsch and Wiaczeslaw Smolokowski.[8] [9] They and their affiliates joined as founders of Mercuria, and they remain as shareholders today.[10]

Operations

Mercuria, in 2017, moved about, of crude and oil products and has upstream and downstream assets ranging from oil reserves in Argentina, Canada and the United States, to oil and products terminals in Europe and China, as well as substantial investment in the bio fuels plants in Germany and the Netherlands.[11]

Its subsidiaries include Navitas Energy in Canada[12] and Vesta Terminal Services in Europe,[13] which operates port logistics, storage and processing facilities in the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium, and Germany. Mercuria, the former owner of Vesta Terminal, entered into a joint venture with Sinopec by selling 50% of the terminals in 2013.[14]

Mercuria is active players in energy and renewable markets through investments in the energy transition, with a particular focus on the United States and Europe.[15] The company told Bloomberg that half of its portfolio wiould be in renewables in the next five years, and that it had already committed to invest over $2 billion into the energy transition.

History

As the company expanded, it has hired traders and investment professionals from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Louis Dreyfus Group[16] and Electrabel in London.[17] In November 2010, Mercuria Energy bought MGM International Group from Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. and MGM International LLC.[18] The Miami, Florida-based MGM International Group is a developer of international projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2014, Mercuria bought part of JPMorgan's physical commodities trading business for a reported US$3.5 billion.[19] [20] Magid Shenouda, the former co-head of commodities trading at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, joined Mercuria as a shareholder, global head of trading and deputy CEO.[21]

In January 2016, Mercuria announced that ChemChina had bought a 12% stake in the company.[22]

In 2018, Mercuria agreed to acquire 30% of Aegean Marine Petroleum. After Aegean Marine was reorganized,[23] [24] in 2019, Mercuria acquired bankrupt Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc and restructured the company to operate as Minerva Bunkering, a physical supplier of marine fuels and a fully-owned subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group Limited.[25] [26] [27] [28]

In 2020, Mercuria had its best year ever, earning $786 million with revenues in line with commodity prices to about $85 billion. The company's gross profit on sales for the year was $1.86 billion.[29] [30]

In 2021, Mercuria bought the clean energy specialist Beyond6 from HC2Holdings for $169 million.[31] In November 2022, it was announced Beyond6 has been acquired by the Chevron Corporation subsidiary, Chevron USA Inc.[32] In April 2024, Bloomberg reported that Mercuria Energy Group was preparing to start trading in Japan’s physical power market. In June 2024, the company was reportedly seeking to expand in the metals sector.

Subsidiaries

Controversy

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has opened an investigation into senior Mercuria executives, including CEO Marco Dunand[36] . According to the Pakistani press, the investigation would focus on allegations of fraud, scam and breach of trust linked to Mercuria's activities in Congo-Brazzaville and its transactions with Eleven Consultancy, a trading company based in the United Arab Emirates[37] . Other leaders would be concerned, including Laoye Abiola, Guillaume Vermerch, Gareth Bradley and consultant Faysal Khan[38] .

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 26 March 2013. Oil Traders and Cyprus. 3 August 2021. Financial Times.
  2. Web site: China slowdown spells end of big payday for iron ore traders. 10 September 2013. 14 November 2017. Reuters.
  3. Web site: RPT-Oil traders diversify into food and metals in quest for profits. 18 June 2013. 14 November 2017. Reuters.
  4. Web site: Documents & downloads. www.mercuria.com.
  5. Web site: Working at Mercuria. www.mercuria.com.
  6. News: Guerrera. Francisco. 15 February 2009. Citi sells Phibro after government pressure. Financial Times. 3 August 2021.
  7. Web site: Oil trading. November 15, 2017. risk.net.
  8. Web site: Hoffman . Andy . Aug 31, 2018 . Oil Trader Mercuria's Ownership Structure Revealed in Filing . bnnbloomberg.ca.
  9. Web site: Hume . Neil . September 4, 2018 . Top three executives lift stake in Mercuria . Financial Times.
  10. Web site: 23 May 2016. Polskie obywatelstwo i fortuna zbita na ropie. The Polish government and fortune tellers. 14 November 2017. Forbes. Polish.
  11. Web site: Oul and Mining Areas. November 15, 2017. proshareng.com.
  12. Web site: Oil and Gas, PetroLama Energy Canada Inc. Calgary, AB Home. 14 November 2017. Navitasenergy.com.
  13. Web site: Home - Vesta Terminals. 14 November 2017. Vestaterminals.com.
  14. Web site: Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.6807 — Mercuria Energy Asset Management/Sinomart KTS Development/Vesta Terminals) : (Text with EEA relevance). 14 November 2017. Eur-lex.europa.eu. PDF.
  15. News: Hoffman. Andy. Dezem. Vanessa. 16 June 2021. Oil traders say banks are demanding green targets for loans. Bloomberg. subscription. 2021-07-28.
  16. Web site: Louis Dreyfus metal traders, investment managers will join Mercuria Energy. Metalbulletin.com. 14 November 2017.
  17. Web site: Larnaca, Cyprus. Topix.com. 14 November 2017.
  18. Web site: Mercuria Energy Group Ltd buys MGM International from Morgan Stanley - CEOWORLD magazine. 14 November 2017. ceoworld.biz.
  19. News: Kent. Sarah. Chaudhuri. Saabira. 2014-10-03. J.P. Morgan Completes Sale of Some Commodities Operations to Mercuria. Wall Street Journal. 14 November 2017.
  20. News: Zhdannikov. Dmitry. 19 March 2014. JPMorgan sells physical commodities unit to Mercuria for $3.5 billion. Reuters. 2021-08-03.
  21. Web site: Mercuria Energy Hires Magid Shenouda. Wall Street Journal.
  22. News: Hoffman. Andy. Blas. Javier. 18 January 2016. ChemChina Acquires 12% Stake in Swiss Commodity Trader Mercuria. Bloomberg. subscription. 2021-08-03.
  23. News: 2019-04-04. Aegean Marine Is Now Minerva Bunkering. Ship & Bunkering. 2019-09-12.
  24. News: 2019-04-05. Restructured Aegean Marine Becomes Minerva Bunkering. World Maritime News. 2019-09-12.
  25. News: Payne. Julia. 2019-03-27. Energy trader Mercuria gets green light to buy Aegean Marine Petroleum. en. Reuters. 2021-08-04.
  26. Web site: Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Reorganizes as Minerva Bunkering. 2021-08-04. www.mercuria.com.
  27. Web site: Ship. bunker.com. Aegean Marine is Now Minerva Bunkering. 2021-08-04. Ship & Bunker.
  28. Web site: 2019-04-05. Restructured Aegean Marine Becomes Minerva Bunkering. 2021-08-04. Offshore Energy. en-US.
  29. News: Payne. Julia. 30 June 2021. Energy trader Mercuria posts record profit for volatile 2020. Reuters. 3 August 2021.
  30. News: Hoffman. Andy. 9 March 2021. Trader Buys $36 Million of Copper and Gets Painted Rocks Instead. Bloomberg. subscription. 30 June 2021.
  31. News: Taylor. Ian. 7 January 2021. Mercuria Buys Clean Energy Specialist Beyond6. Bunkerspot.
  32. Web site: 2022-11-18 . Chevron to acquire full ownership of Beyond6 CNG Fuelling Network . 2022-11-18 . Oilfield Technology . en.
  33. Web site: Mercuria Commodities Canada Corp. - Relationship Science. 2021-08-04. relationshipscience.com.
  34. Web site: Mercuria Energy Trading B.V.. Dun & Bradstreet.
  35. Web site: Mercuria Grows its Global Metals Trading Business. 2021-08-04. www.mercuria.com.
  36. Web site: 2024-07-21 . Mercuria Executives Face FIA Investigation for Alleged Fraud and Corruption . 2024-08-13 . Internal Insider . en-US.
  37. Web site: 2024-05-07 . Senior executives at Mercuria to face investigation by Pakistan’s FIA . 2024-08-13 . Daily Times . en-US.
  38. Web site: 2024-05-03 . Senior executives at Mercuria to face investigation by Pakistan’s FIA . 2024-08-13 . The Nation . en-US.

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