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Shell makes $1 billion a year from United States crude trading, court filing shows

Financial information of Shell's huge oil and gas trading business are some of the company's closestheld tricks. Files in a lawsuit filed by a former staff member, however, exposed its U.S. crude trading regularly makes around $1 billion every year.

Testimony by a former head of Shell's U.S. crude trading division filed in a Texas state court has provided an unusual look at the huge profits of its trading operations and the multi-million dollar rewards bestowed on traders.

John Dimech, who was a manager in Shell's crude oil trading group in Houston for 11 years, stated in a deposition in 2015 that the crude trading unit typically made between $950 million to $1 billion a year.

That is between 13% and 15% of Shell's total U.S. pre-tax profits in recent years, according to estimations based upon company filings.

Shell's 2022 tax contribution report detailed a pre-tax revenue of just over $7 billion total in the U.S. that year, while its 2021 pretax revenue stood at about $6.36 billion.

A Shell representative declined to comment.

The British oil significant does not disclose the financial efficiency of its oil and gas trading desk, the world's. biggest, although the lack of info stresses some. financiers. The business can produce bumper profits, but can be. volatile and even post losses.

Traders generate income by buying and selling oil and gas using. spaces in supply and need around the globe to lock in profits. Their pay frequently includes guarantees of big perks based upon. their performance, that can be more than CEO Wael Sawan's yearly. benefit, which was 2.7 million pounds ($ 3.4 million) in 2015,. according to the latest yearly report.

In the Houston court filing, Shell rejected a breach of. agreement claim by previous trading manager Eva-Maria Frohn, who. looked for $15 million, consisting of $6 million for 2021's benefit. She. received a more than $5 million perk in 2020 for her work the. previous year.

Frohn declared that a task transfer she was offered would not. be as rewarding as the job she held, making her redundant, while. Shell maintained that her task rejection totaled up to a. resignation.

A jury last Tuesday rendered a decision favorable to Shell,. nullifying Frohn's whole claim versus Shell, according to the. law firm that represented the business.

Frohn's lawyer did not respond to an ask for comment.