Vitol history

He’s sitting alongside Taylor—recalling some “very dangerous” moments, such as the first oil crisis in 1973-74, when the price of refined products fluctuated wildly.

Starting in 1978 he learned the oil-trading ropes through stints in Singapore and Caracas, where he met his wife.

Vitol has grown like a Silicon Valley startup under Taylor, who came on in 1985 and took the top job a decade later, transforming the company into one of the world’s top traders as oil demand surged in China and other emerging markets.

The modern Vitol began to take shape in 1990, when Detiger and seven other partners sold the company for $100 million to $200 million (the actual figure wasn’t disclosed) to a group of about 40 employees, including Taylor.

During his time as CEO, Vitol has increased its equity value by 3,500 percent, from $278 million in 1996 to almost $10 billion last year.

Zeljko Raznjatovic, known as “Arkan,” was indicted in 1997 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague for crimes against humanity.

The company first began making charitable grants in 2002, helping children to achieve a comprehensive all-round development.

The Vitol Foundation is a charitable organisation set up in 2006 that operates independently of Vitol.

In 2009, for instance, the year the company reported its best profit, oil plunged to $30 a barrel from a record $150.

The war in Libya was one such case; the 2011 nuclear crisis in Fukushima was another, leading to a massive shift in energy flows to Japan. “Opportunity is defined externally,” says Russell Hardy, a senior Vitol executive.

In 2013-14, the foundation was the sponsor of Street Child World Cup held in Rio.

In 2014, Vitol along with Abu Dhabi Investment Council bought Shell Australia.