ADNOC taps industry veteran to lead trading arm expansion

(Bloomberg) – Abu Dhabi National Oil Co has hired commodities veteran Benoit Roulon to head up its trading arm, part of the long-term expansion plan at the Middle Eastern producer which quit OPEC last month. 

Roulon is set to join ADNOC Trading from his previous role at Squarepoint Capital, where he had been leading a push into physical oil since the start of this year, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named citing confidential plans.

ADNOC declined to comment. Roulon did not respond to a request for comment.

Abu Dhabi’s five year-old oil trading arm is undergoing a major international expansion. It plans to boost the volume it handles by two-thirds in the next few years to as much as 2 MMbpd, Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Bin Thalith told Bloomberg News in November. 

That’s happening as the United Arab Emirates, which was OPEC’s third-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, targets 5 MMbpd of oil production capacity, compared with output levels of about 3.6 MMbpd earlier this year.

The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran has curbed production in the UAE and other major Persian Gulf producers in recent months. Through the crisis, Adnoc has been one of the most active shippers, often using smaller tankers to shuttle crude out of the strait.

This export flow could be boosted by a potential agreement this week between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Before joining Squarepoint, Roulon was head of crude oil trading for Gunvor SA, after a 21-year career at TotalEnergies SA where he held managerial roles in the U.S. and Singapore. Recently ADNOC opened an office for its trading business in Geneva and has plans to expand to Houston in 2027.