Trending Content - Sales and Trading Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
June 30, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
Noble probably shouldn't be on that list..
There's a bunch in Houston. Off the top of my head...
Prop trading shops : Gunvor, Mercuria, Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura
Producers/Midstream : Shell, BP, Phillips 66
Other companies like EDF, Calpine, Castleton, ENGIE, Talen
I work for one of the prop trading shops I mentioned above if you have any questions
While I'm in metals and not oil, generally speaking the biggest differences are the approach to risk and the scale of assets.
Even the most aggressive traders like BP and Shell are going to be less gung-ho than a merchant like those listed above when it comes to risk.
But in a career, that is not the end all be all. Shell is by far the largest oil trader in the world for instance, and they have way more in terms of assets than the merchants. Earlier on in your career, that experience is absolutely invaluable. If you look at the bios of most of the top traders at the shops you mentioned, they almost all have Shell/BP experience. That's because they have experience dealing with assets and huge flows that you won't even find at a Vitol/Glencore/Trafi.
This holds somewhat less in metals, but the difference in understanding between someone who worked at BHP/Rio/Glencore vs. a smallish metal trader is pretty vast as well.
Generally speaking I would say focus on getting experience at the biggest shop possible first, worry about getting a risk taking role later.
I've only worked at 2 of the prop shops I listed and one of the "other companies" I listed, so I can't speak to the culture at supermajors. You can look at my response to the other poster about prop trading vs supermajor. What GoodBread said is spot on, there is definitely more risk taking as we don't have many assets to trade around.
If you're asking about how the work culture is, its a pretty relaxed environment as long as you're generally smart and hard working. Like I said in the post below, these shops run very lean by nature so whenever a problem arises that you can solve, you are expected to be able to solve it no matter your job title. I really enjoy it as you get to push your skill set in ways you wouldn't at other shops.
What are you looking to originate? In crude and products most of the originators have physical trading backgrounds. You're not likely to create much customer flow business without building the network first and trading is generally the best way to build that network of decision makers in the physical commodity space.
If you're interested in gas, power, renewables then there are more direct routes to marketing and origination without trading first.
However, I would say that for any physical commodity path it is best to start on the trading side. Sort of easier to do whatever after starting in the hardest part of something.
This should be enough to keep you busy with Gas:
Tenaska Sequent Mercuria CAD & NA Sierentz BP Direct (HESS) Macquarie Wells Fargo Shell Statoil Conoco Chevron Castleton Exelon PSEG/Long Island Power & Light Centerpoint Con Ed Uniper Emera Dynegy BTG/Engelhart Liberty Freepoint Twin Eagle Vitol NJR Enstor/IBERDOL Repsol J Aron Colonial Elevation