Viva Energy

OVERALL
Owned	SWI
Rating

Oil refiner and fuels supplier

Formed in August 2014 when a consortium led by Vitol acquired Shell's downstream business in Australia (including the Geelong refinery and Shell service stations) for $2.6b. Viva Energy supplies around 25% of Australia's fuel and is the exclusive licensee and distributor of Shell branded fuels and lubricants in Australia. Operates more than 900 service stations across the country. In December 2014, it acquired a minority, non-controlling stake in Liberty Oil, to whom Viva is a major supplier.

Company Ownership

Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd	AUS	website	email		twitter
Vitol Holding BV       owns 100% of Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd	SWI	website	email		twitter
Energy and commodities trader Founded in 1966 in Rotterdam. Involved in oil refining, trading, shipping, storage, exploration and production, marketing and power generation. It has 40 offices around the world and trades over seven million barrels of crude oil and products a day, controlling about 6.5% of the world oil market in 2016. In 1990, the Dutch owner and seven other partners sold the company to 40 employees including Ian Taylor, the current CEO, with no one owning more than 5%. It is Dutch registered, Geneva headquartered and decision making is made in London.

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Company Assessment

PRAISE	CRITICISM	INFORMATION
Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd
Australian Packaging Covenant signatory Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation. [Source 2017][More on Packaging]		Fined for uncontrolled discharge In June 2017 the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) fined this company $15,000 after pumping equipment used to apply a soil binding agent was washed out on site causing waste water to flow into Duck River, Rosehill. [Source 2017][More on Habitats]
Vitol Holding BV
	Human rights This 2015 report assesses the human rights approach of Vitol. This company has done little to nothing to reduce its possible involvement in human rights violations. [Source 2015][More on Human Rights] Trading oil with Iran despite sanctions This 2013 report by Reuters claims that Vitol bought and sold Iranian fuel oil in 2012, bypassing an EU embargo against Tehran. The tale of the cargo of Iranian fuel oil involves tanker tracking systems being switched off, two ship-to-ship transfers, and blending of the oil with fuel from another source to alter the cargo's physical specification. [Source 2013][More on Finance]	Criticisms of Vitol - Wikipedia Vitol has a number of controversies listed on its Wikipedia profile, mostly to do with trading oil with oppressive regimes. Follow the link for further details. [Source 2013][More on Human Rights] Tax avoidance This article details how Vitol arranges its business to pay a fraction of the standard UK tax rate for its hugely profitable London operations. Sources reveal that so-called 'brokers' in London are actually traders, with their trades being 'confirmed' in Switzerland. This means the profits on their trades are shifted to low-tax Switzerland. [Source 2014][More on Finance] Responsibility claims This company has extensive responsibility claims on its website. [Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting] Vitol Foundation Vitol first began making charitable grants in 2002 and established the Vitol Foundation in 2006. Since then they have funded over 2,000 projects in 124 countries around the world. [Source 2017][More on Finance] BankTrack profile BankTrack is a global network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the banking sector and the activities they finance. Banktrack aims to promote fundamental changes in the banking sector so that banks adopt just and sustainable business practices. BankTrack also has profiles on companies, such as this one, which have been the subject of civil society campaigns for damaging the environment or society. Follow the link to see this company's profile. [Source 2018]

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