BP Plc’s former global head of crude oil trading Dan Wise will return to the desk in October, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — BP Plc’s former global head of crude oil trading Dan Wise will return to the desk in October, according to people familiar with the matter.
Wise will be back on a part-time and interim basis to support some of the company’s strategic growth activity from Oct. 1, according to a staff notice seen by Bloomberg News. Last year, Bloomberg reported that Wise was retiring and would be replaced by Alejandro Arboleda.
BP declined to comment. Multiple attempts to reach Wise weren’t successful.
Wise, originally based in London, had relocated to Chicago in 2018 to lead the trading division after Donald Porteous, once known as the “King of Cushing” and one of the world’s most powerful traders, retired in 2016. Wise joined BP in the early 2000s as an apprentice. He was viewed as a rising star and rose through the ranks working on some of the company’s most profitable trading books, including its North Sea desk.
BP, like peers Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, doesn’t break out how much money its trading division makes. The company has previously said that trading can lift annual returns by about 2 percentage points, meaning it can add billions of dollars to its income. BP’s natural gas trading unit posted an “exceptional” result in the second quarter, while oil trading profits were weaker, BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney told Bloomberg News earlier this month.
Earlier this month, BP hiked its dividend and promised to buy back more shares, after locking in returns well in excess of the company’s guidance. The company sees a strong outlook for oil prices amid growing demand and output restrictions from OPEC and its allies.
Read More: BP Chief Says Oil Prices to Rise on ‘Resilient’ Demand and OPEC+
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