Morgan Stanley's head of crude oil trading in New York, Tom O'Connor, resigned last week, a person familiar with the matter said.
O'Connor was a managing director who ran the New York crude oil trading desk. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2000 as an associate, trading commodities.
His departure follows that of Simon Fenner, formerly head of strategic transactions at Morgan Stanley's U.S. commodities business, who left to helm energy trading in the Americas at the trading arm of Russian oil giant Lukoil.
O'Connor's resignation was first reported by SparkSpread, a financial industry trade publication.
The two departures come amidst Morgan Stanley's retreat from the physical oil trading business.
The bank announced on Monday it is selling its controlling stake in oil storage and transport company TransMontaigne Inc to NGL Energy Partners LP for $200 million, essentially ending its long run as the biggest physical oil trader on Wall Street.
In December, the bank announced its intent to sell most of its global physical oil trading operations to Russian state-run oil major Rosneft, including its 49 percent stake in shipping company Heidmar.
By Anna Louie Sussman