Energy trader Vitol boosted its liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes in 2023 on the back of higher demand in Europe.
Vitol said in its full-year report that its natural gas and LNG volumes grew by 19 percent and 24 percent respectively, but it did not reveal the quantities.
In 2022, Vitol’s traded LNG volumes increased to about 17.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent, or some 14 million tonnes of LNG, as the company’s portfolio responded to increased demand from Europe.
This means that Vitol’s LNG volumes in 2023 reached some 17.3 million tonnes of LNG.
The Geneva-based firm, which entered the LNG market in 2006, reported LNG volumes of 12.9 million tonnes in 2021, 10 million tonnes in 2020, and 10.5 million tonnes in 2019.
In 2023, Vitol’s turnover was $400 billion, down from $505 billion in 2022, while the company delivered 546 million tonnes of oil equivalent, up 4 percent on 2022 an increase largely driven by increases in gas and LNG volumes, it said.
Vitol’s crude oil and product volumes fell 1.6 percent to 349 million tonnes or 7.3 mbpd with a 10 percent decline in crude volumes.
European demand
“In gas, 120 bcm per annum of Russian pipeline gas which used to flow to Europe has, to date, been replaced by an additional 62 bcmpa LNG and significant demand destruction,” Vitol’s CEO Russell Hardy said in the report.
“Flows of LNG to Europe in 2023 were equivalent to half the global LNG market volume as recently as 2010, illustrating the rapid evolution of this market,” he said.
Vitol has a global LNG portfolio with long-term LNG supply from North America, Africa, Middle East, and Asia, and charters a fleet of LNG carriers.
The company recently signed a long-term deal to buy natural gas from US oil and gas producer EOG.
It also signed a deal with India’s GAIL to deliver 1 mtpa of LNG to the latter for a period of about 10 years starting in 2026.
