Said Addi

As global oil flows fragment under sanctions, geopolitics, and shifting refining patterns, the same physical barrel no longer carries one price. It carries several, depending on where it can go and who can get it there. Drawing on two decades across Shell, Gunvor, and E3, Said explains why destination optionality has become the central value driver in physical trading, and how firms position themselves to capture it. Audiences will leave with a new lens for where value actually sits in a fragmented market, and why it favours the operator.

For decades the best traders won on information. Today satellite tracking, freight analytics, and real-time pricing have drained that advantage almost completely. Using IMO 2020 as a live case, Said shows how the edge quietly moved from knowing things first to being physically positioned to act, and why the firms with storage, blending, and freight flexibility captured enormous value while others correctly predicted the move and could not monetise it. A grounded talk for anyone running or investing in a physical book.