Trafigura ongoing business activities with Russian oil giants Trafigura is one of the major Russian oil traders and has deep connections with Russian state-owned oil giants. Despite its public condemnation of the war and commitment to stop buying Russian crude oil, Trafigura still maintains commercial ties with Rosneft. Trafigura also owns a 24.5% stake in Nayara Energy, which some trade sources and Refinitiv report has bought 1.8 million barrels of Urals oil from Trafigura in a deal signed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

As reported by Bloomberg, Trafigura helps Russian fossil fuels circulate despite state sanctions. In mid-September 2022 European energy research company Kpler reported that Trafigura brokered 300,000 barrels of oil produced by Rosneft and sold it to Prax Group, a medium size British oil company. 

By keeping doing business with Russian oil majors, Trafigura contributes to Russia’s ability to finance the war and to war crimes and human rights breaches in Ukraine, something that is no more acceptable especially after Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions and mobilisation decree. 

Dirty Fuels, West Africa In late 2016, Public Eye – a Swiss NGO – published the “Dirty Diesel” report showing how Western companies, including commodities trader Trafigura, sell diesel and gasoline in Africa with a sulphur content 378 times higher than the European limit of 10 ppm (parts per million). Public Eye’s analysis found that fuels sold to Africa also contain other toxic substances banned in Europe, such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 

As African cities grow and traffic-related emissions get higher, the poor quality of the diesel available will make people inhabiting the West-African region more and more exposed to the adverse effects of particulate matter and air pollution, such as premature death and illness. A 2017 BankTrack briefing challenged banks financing Trafigura to show how they responded.

The Probo Koala toxic waste incident, Akouédo, Ivory Coast In August 2006, Trafigura dumped a large amount of toxic waste on board the cargo ship Probo Koala. As a consequence of the toxic waste dumping, 17 people died and tens of thousands were exposed to the toxic waste. More than 15 years since the incident, the social and human rights impacts are still extensive. 

People in the affected area suffered from serious health issues, such as throat cancer, miscarriages, skin issues, strong migraines, etc. Water sources were depleted, affecting the availability of drinkable water. As crops were damaged, thousands of people were exposed to food insecurity. In 2019, the government of Ivory Coast finally closed the Akouédo dump.

Trafigura’s emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) are significant: according to Trafigura’s Responsibility Report 2019, the company emitted 26% more CO2 than the previous year and, despite to commitment to align to zero emissions, the 2021 Sustainability Report states that the company has seen an increase in its emissions once again. 

The company's last sustainability report states that its emissions related to fuel and energy activities, upstream transportation and distribution, business travel, upstream leased assets and investments increased by 21% in FY2021 to 14.5 million tons of CO2. It was also estimated that in the same year Trafigura’s downstream emissions, including those of its mines, Nystrar smelters and refinery in Argentina, comprised an additional 32.2 million tons of CO2.

Multi-metal mining project Castellanos, Pinar del Rio, Cuba The zinc and lead mining project Castellanos is operated by Emincar (Empresa Minera del Caribe), which is a joint venture between Trafigura (49%) and the Cuban state-owned Geominera (51%). The project is responsible for loss of biodiversity, air pollution, soil contamination, soil erosion, surface water pollution as well as groundwater depletion and mine tailing spills. 

The Probo Koala toxic waste incident, Akouédo, Ivory Coast The Probo Koala toxic waste dumping caused major adverse impacts on the environment. As a result of the illegal waste disposal, air in the dump area was polluted, water and soil contaminated, and biodiversity lost. The hydro and geological system suffered from a large-scale disturbance, while episodes of floods (river, mudflow and coastal) increased. As of now, Trafigura still refuses to disclose exactly what was in the toxic waste.