Geneva-based, independent energy company Gunvor International BV has made a number of appointments in an effort to expand its activities in the natural-gas, coal and electricity markets, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The company has hired Wilfried Staub, formerly a trader of European natural gas at EDF Trading, a unit of Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR), and Rhodia SA (RHA.FR), and an oil trader at TXU Energy Trading, a subsidiary of TXU Corp. (TXU).

Staub will join Gunvor May 17 and take responsibility for Gunvor's physical-gas positions across continental Europe.

The appointment follows a statement by Robert Alpen, Gunvor's vice president of natural gas and liquefied natural gas, who told Dow Jones Newswires in late March that the company was keen to mirror its success in the oil market in the natural-gas arena.

Other hires include Douglas Smith, who is to join Gunvor as a coal trader in June. Smith was previously responsible for coal portfolio management and proprietary trading at Centrica PLC (CNA.LN), the statement said.

And in an effort to widen its activities in the Nordic and Baltic electricity markets, Gunvor has also hired Fredrik Bodecker, who has had previous stints at Nordic Commodity Funds in Sweden and RWE AG (RWE.XE), the statement said.

Company Web site: http://www.gunvorgroup.com

-By Reza Amanat, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420-7842-9487; reza.amanat@dowjones.com (Angela Henshall in London contributed to this report.)