Exxon’s Top US Gas Trader to Join Expand as Exits Hit Oil Giant
(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp.’s head of US gas and power trading is moving to Expand Energy Corp., one of several recent departures from a unit the supermajor has been trying to grow.
Jon Jaye is heading to Expand, the largest US gas producer, after nearly 16 years with Exxon, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing career moves. Jaye will join Dan Turco, Expand’s executive vice president for marketing and commercial, who joined from Exxon last year.
Several other US natural gas traders are also leaving Exxon, the people said. Among them are Jonathan Sadik, Exxon’s head of natural gas financial trading, who is also poised to join Expand. Chris Giddings and Clay Patterson are joining ConocoPhillips. And Collin Link recently moved to Freepoint Commodities LLC, a merchant trading company.
Exxon declined to comment on the specific departures but said in a statement that “attrition is consistent with historical norms, and we continue to successfully recruit key talent across our trading hubs in support of ambitious growth plans.”
A Freepoint Commodities spokesperson confirmed Link had joined the company. Expand and ConocoPhillips declined to comment. None of the traders responded to requests for comment.
Exxon has built up its trading division in recent years as it seeks to capture more profit from the company’s vast network of pipelines, refineries and chemical plants. The company revised its compensation policy about two years ago to allow some traders to be paid cash bonuses in addition to stock awards.
But it has a more conservative approach to trading than some rivals, making it challenging to retain top performers in an industry known for risk taking, large bonuses and high employee turnover. The company faces competition for traders from companies like Expand, which also wants to exploit arbitrage opportunities around their physical assets, as well as from merchant traders and hedge funds.
Expand, formed by the merger of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Southwestern Energy Co. in 2024, has increased its marketing staff 50% to about 60 in past year to sell more of its gas directly to end-users, who previously bought through trading houses and other marketing companies. Its headquarters is in Southwestern’s former main office, about a mile away from Exxon’s campus near Houston.
Jaye was based in Houston as Exxon’s head of natural gas and power trading for two years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He took over the position from Jason Coy, who left to join the quantitative hedge fund Squarepoint Capital LLP in 2024.
Leading oil trading firms Vitol Group, Trafigura Group and Gunvor Group all made higher-than-usual profits this year as the US-Iran war disrupted energy supplies and oil and gas markets globally. However, it’s still too early to say if 2026 will rival the industry’s record haul after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Exxon’s first-quarter earnings took a hit of about $3.7 billion due to derivative positions linked to physical deliveries of cargoes. Chief Financial Officer Neil Hansen told investors in April that these were paper losses only and would fully unwind over time, resulting in “material” profits.
Separately, Tracey Gunnlaugsson, President of Exxon’s trading business, is retiring and will be replaced by Alex Volkov, according to people familiar with the matter. Volkov previously oversaw the integration of Pioneer Natural Resources Co., which Exxon bought for about $60 billion two years ago.
Gunnlaugsson’s retirement and Volkov’s appointment were reported earlier by Reuters.
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