Exxon Mobil’s head of global trading, Tracey Gunnlaugsson, is retiring, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Gunnlaugsson, based in Houston, was appointed to lead the trading division in 2023 after serving as human resources vice president at the company for nearly five years.

Trading Losses

Exxon’s earnings have been dented by what the company describes as trading-related “timing losses”, despite higher oil prices from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The company reported a $3.9 billion paper loss stemming from derivatives in the first quarter, which pushed net income down to its lowest level in five years.

The losses contrasted with the first-quarter trading profits of European oil majors, which reaped billions of dollars from this year’s energy supply crunch triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. European majors have spent decades building trading desks, employing hundreds of people who buy and sell crude, fuels, and gas to take advantage of price gaps across regions and time periods, and also taking positions in derivatives markets.

Exxon uses financial derivatives to mitigate the risk of price changes during the time it takes to deliver cargoes to customers. The value of the physical shipment is not reflected in earnings until the transaction is complete, which created a large unfavorable timing impact, the company has said.

The timing impacts are expected to unwind in subsequent quarters and result in profitability, Exxon CFO Neil Hansen said in an interview last month. During the earnings call with analysts, Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the company was confident the losses were a pure timing problem “that will work itself out.”

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.