(March 17): Vitol Group reaped record profits of around US$3 billion last year as the world’s largest independent oil trader surfed the dramatic moves in energy markets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The results are the latest indication of the bonanza that oil traders enjoyed in 2020, when the commodity plunged amid a Saudi-Russian price war in the early days of the pandemic and then staged a sharp recovery as OPEC+ cut production.