Trader BB Energy parts with some Houston traders in major reorganization

By Shariq Khan and Georgina McCartney

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Commodities trader BB Energy has laid off over a dozen people from its Houston office, and parted with some oil traders in a major restructuring of its operations, sources familiar with the matter said.

A BB Energy spokesperson confirmed it had made changes to sharpen its focus on the most profitable areas of its core business, while diversifying into high-potential new markets. The company did not say how many employees were impacted by the changes.

"To strengthen our position in the U.S., we have begun implementing a comprehensive reorganisation designed to enhance financial resilience and improve commercial and operational efficiency," the spokesperson said.

BB Energy, which also has trading offices in UAE, UK, Singapore, Switzerland and Belgium, plans to shift some administrative functions away from the U.S. and move oversight of those responsibilities to Europe, two sources told Reuters.

The company declined to comment on how it carries out administrative functions across the group.

TRADERS LEAVE FIRM

Among the traders to depart as part of the reorganization were Alexander George and Dylan Laurin, the spokesperson said. Both George and Laurin were on the crude oil desk, sources said.

George is joining U.S. refiner Phillips 66 to trade crude, a company spokesperson confirmed. 

Laurin has also accepted a role at another oil trading company, sources told Reuters.

Trevor Plath, who focused on renewable fuels and carbon markets, also left BB Energy, three sources said.

Two distillate fuel traders, Brendan Donahue and Nelson Rios Requena, had also left the firm in recent weeks, two sources told Reuters.

Bloomberg earlier reported BB Energy had lost half of its Houston traders amid a tough oil market.

BB Energy ranks among the top global commodities trading houses, with revenue of about $23 billion last year and trading volumes of about 33 million tons of crude and petroleum products, according to its website.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York, Georgina McCartney and Arathy Somasekhar in Houston, Ahmad Ghaddar in London; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis)