Vitol

The Vitol group is an energy trading company founded in Rotterdam in 1966. Vitol operates worldwide, and along with Glencore and Trafigura, is one of the world's top three crude oil traders.[1] Vitol's headquarters are located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland. With 2010 revenues of nearly US$195 billion, the company ships more than 400 million tons of oil per year.[2] Vitol's main operations are based in Geneva, Houston, Singapore and London and in addition to the global crude and product trading businesses, the company has a growing presence in the coal, natural gas, power, carbon emissions and bio-fuels markets.[3]

Vitol has interests in various oil storage terminals and exploration and production projects worldwide. The latter includes ownership of Arawak[2], with production in Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, </ref> and exploration assets in Cameroon, and Ghana.[4][verification needed]

Vitol Tanks Terminals International has an asset value in excess of $1 billion and current capacity approaching six million cubic metres in four continents. Current key locations include Amsterdam and Europoort in the Netherlands, Seaport Canaveral, Florida, and a 49% share of the Ventspils terminal in Latvia.[5] In May 2010 MISC Bhd of Malaysia acquired 50% of VTTI for US $735 million. [6]

In addition to offices in Dubai and Bahrain, Vitol's key strategic asset in the Middle East is the Fujairah Refinery Company Limited (FRCL), which operates an 82,000 barrel per day refinery and a 1,034,000 cubic metre tank farm. FRCL has further development plans in place, which include a 140,000 cubic metre expansion of the tank farm, refurbishment of existing refining units and the installation of additional processing units.[7]

Vitol is an independent company, with 330 employees making up its shareholders. Vitol has stated that through this model, its internal partnerships foster long standing relationships with its customers and proven reliability and delivery.[8]