Shell To Relocate Madrid Gas Trading Team To Dubai

Shell plans to close its Madrid gas trading operations for tax reasons, Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias has reported.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said Shell planned to relocate its gas trading staff of 50 people to Dubai, London and Singapore. The staff includes a team handling commercial activities.

The Madrid operations were originally part of liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Pavilion Energy, which Shell bought from Singapore’s investment fund Temasek last year.

The UAE, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in particular, have been pushing hard to attract regional and global traders to set up operations in the emirates.

In 2020, Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) established Adnoc Trading (AT) and Adnoc Global Trading (AGT). The former is focused on crude and LNG and is active on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, an independent exchange for derivatives of the local Murban contract. AGT specialises in refined products. Today, these two companies employ more than 400 people.

Regional companies, including Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Trading, Oman’s OQ, Kuwait’s KPC, Bahrain’s Bapco and France’s TotalEnergies have established offices in the UAE. 

International houses like Ennero Group, Gunvor, Montfort and Vitol are also present.

“From a logistical standpoint, [the UAE is] very well placed to capture the opportunity,” a source told AGBI.