The largest energy companies in Europe bolstered first-quarter earnings by pumping several billion dollars’ worth of oil into storage tanks and holding it there, although the trading opportunity is starting to fade. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Wednesday it employed about $1 billion of capital between January and March buying oil for storage that would be sold later at a higher price. French oil major Total SA last week said it used $750 million on the strategy — a so-called contango trade. While BP Plc hasn’t disclosed how much it spent, the company said its working capital increased by $800 million during the quarter. The disclosures highlight how the European oil majors’ trading operations benefited as the oil surplus created a contango market structure — where prices for immediate delivery are lower than future months — even as their profits from exploration and production plunged. The trio’s sway […]