Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. is aCypriot-domiciled Swiss[2] multinationalcommodity trading company active in a wide spectrum of global energy markets includingcrude oil and refined petroleum products,natural gas (including LNG), power,biodiesel,base metals[3] and agricultural products.[4] The company is one of the world's five largest independent energy traders and asset operators and is based inGeneva, Switzerland, with 37 additional offices worldwide.[5] The group operates in 50 countries.[6]
Mercuria was started in 2004 by Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi, then executives atPhibro, the commodities trader sold byCitigroup toOccidental Petroleum in 2009.[7] The company focused mostly on oil trading until 2007.[8] Prior to this, Mercuria was assumed control of J&S Group, which was named after the Polish businessmen Gregory Jankilevitsch and Wiaczeslaw Smolokowski.[9][10] They and their affiliates joined as founders of Mercuria, and they remain as shareholders today.[11]
Mercuria, in 2017, moved about 1.5 million barrels per day (240,000 m3/d), 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.[12]
Its subsidiaries include Navitas Energy in Canada[13] and Vesta Terminal Services in Europe,[14] 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 withSinopec by selling 50% of the terminals in 2013.[15]
Mercuria is active players in energy and renewable markets through investments in theenergy transition, with a particular focus on the United States and Europe.[16] The company told Bloomberg that half of its portfolio would be in renewables in the next five years, and that it had already committed to invest over $2 billion into the energy transition.[16]
As the company expanded, it has hired traders and investment professionals fromMorgan Stanley,Goldman Sachs,Louis Dreyfus Group[17] andElectrabel in London.[18] In November 2010, Mercuria Energy bought MGM International Group from Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. and MGM International LLC.[19] The Miami, Florida-based MGM International Group is a developer of international projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2014, Mercuria bought part ofJPMorgan's physical commodities trading business for a reported US$3.5 billion.[20][21] 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.[22]
In January 2016, Mercuria announced thatChemChina had bought a 12% stake in the company.[23]
In 2018, Mercuria agreed to acquire 30% ofAegean Marine Petroleum.[24] After Aegean Marine was reorganized,[25][26] in 2019, Mercuria acquired bankrupt Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc and restructured the company to operate asMinerva Bunkering, a physical supplier of marine fuels and a fully-owned subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group Limited.[27][28][29][30]
In 2020, Mercuria earned $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.[31][32] In 2022, the company experienced record profits due to volatility in the aftermath ofRussia's invasion of Ukraine.[33]
In 2021, Mercuria bought the clean energy specialist Beyond6 from HC2Holdings for $169 million.[34] In November 2022, it was announced Beyond6 has been acquired by theChevron Corporation subsidiary, Chevron USA Inc.[35] In April 2024,Bloomberg reported that Mercuria Energy Group was preparing to start trading in Japan’s physical power market.[36] In June 2024, the company was reportedly seeking to expand in the metals sector.[37]
