US oil major Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is reportedly planning to be more aggressive in commodity trading, with a new division aiming to compete with the likes of Glencore and Trafigura.
The division seeks to be active in the high-risk, high-reward world of energy derivatives, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Exxon’s new unit will wrap up and consolidate its existing crude, natural gas, power, and petroleum-product desks. Launching later this year it plans to enhance Exxon’s commercial intensity and “deliver outstanding trading results”, according to the Bloomberg report which cited an email sent to employees.
It marks a change of tack and perhaps an emphasis on maximising profits in an environment where committing to large-scale new projects is otherwise challenging.
Exxon has previously avoided speculative trading and has been less active in using derivatives compared to its oil and gas rivals like Shell and BP, the Bloomberg write-up noted, though with market-leading operational scale globally its new trading could be underpinned by significant real-world data and insights.
The plan comes as part of a three-year-long internal reorganization under chief executive Darren Woods.