New study compares oil and gas companies of the world

Apr. 18, 1997 Russia is home to five of the world's 20 largest oil companies in terms of proven oil reserves. However, the companies with the highest upstream operating profit per barrel of oil and gas output are almost all European, according to a new study published by the World Energy Group of Price Waterhouse and Petroleum Intelligence Weekly.
"Ranking The World's Top Oil Companies" is a joint effort of Price Waterhouse and the respected oil newsletter, PIW, that benchmarks the world's 100 largest oil companies according to more than 100 key criteria and characteristics. The study is unique in comparing state-owned companies with publicly traded oil companies, providing a comprehensive picture of the world oil industry.
The Anglo-American majors that once dominated the international industry are still important players, but they have been joined by an increasingly diverse group of companies from a wide range of countries. Among the top 100 companies, 27 are still US-based, but Russia is now second with 10 companies in the group. Japan has 6 companies in the top 100, the UK and Canada have 5 each, Germany has 4 and Norway three.
"Underscoring the intensifying global competition in oil and gas, the large state-owned oil companies far surpass the majors in terms of both oil production and reserves," said James Crump, chairman of the Price Waterhouse World Energy Group. "In oil reserves, 16 oil companies from the Middle East, Latin America and Russia dominate the category, accounting for 860 billion barrels of oil and oil equivalent reserves, or fully 80 % of world reserves."
Although OPEC's importance has waned recently, state companies from OPEC countries hold 8 of the top 10 spots in terms of oil reserves. Oil production is also dominated by the big national oil companies, with 8 in the top 10 producing 25.4 mm bpd, or 37.5 % of global output.

Russian companies
In terms of oil reserves, Russia's five companies in the top 20 give it the largest number of any country. In addition, Russia's Gazprom is without peer in natural gas, accounting for 26 % of global natural gas production, seven times more than second-ranked Royal Dutch/Shell. Gazprom also holds 23 % of the world's natural gas reserves. "Although not widely known outside the former Soviet Union, Russian oil and gas companies have the resources to be major actors on the world stage," said Ed Morse, publisher of PIW Publications, the parent of Petroleum Intelligence Weekly. "The Russian companies can be expected to play an increasingly important role on the global stage as we enter the 21st century."

European companies
Underscoring the importance of upstream operations in Europe, the companies with the highest upstream operating profit per barrel of oil and gas output are almost all European. Norway's Statoil tops the list with operating profits of $ 9 per barrel, and European companies make up 7 of the top 10. Even the non-European companies in the top 10 have significant European oil and gas production.

Bookcontains rankings for upstream, downstream & financial performance
"Ranking the World's Top Oil Companies" contains rankings for the world's 100 largest oil companies in three general categories: upstream, downstream and financial. Upstream rankings cover activities in oil and gas exploration and production. They include total reserves of oil and gas, regional breakdowns of reserves, regional breakdowns of production, upstream profit ratios and degrees of upstream integration.
Downstream rankings cover activities in refining and marketing. They include total refining capacities, refining capacities by region, refinery utilisation, refined product sales, market shares, retail outlets, downstream profit ratios and degrees of downstream integration.
Financial rankings cover basic measures of performance, including gross revenue, cash flow, net profits, assets, market capitalisation, number of employees and various financial ratios. All data from the study are for 1995, the latest period for which information is available for such a diverse group of companies. The top 100 companies were selected according to their standings in six operational criteria: oil and gas reserves, oil and gas production, refining capacity and product sales.