Noble has hired Sergi Nakaidze, an ex-West Coast gasoline pipeline trader at ConocoPhillips, to kick start its West Coast trading operations.   Nakaidze will trade both gasoline pipeline and cargo barrels.   In addition, Noble also hired Sean Werber, an ex-scheduler/blender for Gulf Coast and West Coast markets from Conocophilips, to trade clean products. Werber was trading crude derivatives at ConocoPhillips before the move to Noble.   Both are to begin work at Noble sometime in October.   
Both new hires, who are based in Houston, follow the hiring of Steve Hollerbach, ex-global gasoline lead for ConocoPhillips, at Noble in May.    Both Nakaidze and Werber will work in Noble’s office in Houston.   
The products slate for Noble’s new West Coast trading strategy may expand to distillates later.   OPIS reported about Noble’s West Coast trading aspirations in March 2011.Noble w
as seen dabbling in West Coast products trading earlier this year.   The niche West Coast cash market is described as difficult to penetratebecause of the limited liquidity and high price volatility. A new player wouldneed to hire experienced oil traders with knowledge of the West Coast market togain a foothold in that market as new player, BioUrja, did recently.   
Noble officials and spokesman do not comment on the company’s oil trading operation as it is considered proprietary information.   
The move into the West Coast did not come as a surprise to cash markettraders as Noble was seen trading small volumes of Los Angeles paper swapsearlier this year for the first time.   Noble was seen doing research and gathering information on the know-howsbefore actually launching its West Coast trading.   
Besides providing a potential outlet for Asian products cargoes, a tradingpresence on the West Coast would allow Noble to connect the dots across the U.S.   So far, Noble’s trading supply and marketing in the U.S. stretches from the Northeast to the Midcon to the Gulf Coast and as far west as the Southwestregion via pipelines.   
The Hong Kong-headquartered commodity company, backed by strong Chinese funds, was predominantly a Northeast oil products player in the U.S. until it bought Semfuel’s $65.35 Midwest terminaling and pipeline assets in 2009.   
That was quickly followed by the $80 million purchase of Northville South’s blending, supply and marketing business on the Gulf Coast.   
El Paso truckers, who are loading products at Longhorn terminals in West Texas, are now receiving products invoices under Noble Logistics and Noble Contracting. Products from El Paso could be delivered to the Southwest market, which buys fuel from both West Texas as well as California.   
Apart from oil trading in the U.S., Noble acquired Sempra Power and Gas for$582 million late last year.