Why European oil companies are doing better than America's | The Economist

Why are Europe's oil majors so much better at trading than their American competitors? Matthieu Favas,The Economist's Commodities correspondent, and Jason Palmer, host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss how trading evolved from a little-known side business into a crucial source of profit, why firms such as BP, Shell and TotalEnergies dominate the market and why American oil companies are trying to catch up. 00:00 – Why are Europe's oil majors winning at trading? 00:43 – What does oil trading actually mean? 01:31 – Why do BP, Shell and TotalEnergies dominate? 04:08 – What makes these trading desks so successful? 06:05 – Can American firms and national oil companies catch up? 07:49 – Will Europe's trading advantage last? Big oil’s secretive trading arms are having an extraordinary year:https://econ.st/44I7XR5 Subscribe: https://www.economist.com/subscribe Download the App: https://www.economist.com/get-the-app Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/ X:https://x.com/TheEconomist #TheEconomist #OilMarkets #EnergyTrading