National Oil Companies Hold Top Spots In Energy Intelligence's Ranking Of Top Oil Firms

State-owned oil companies are retaining their dominant position in the world petroleum industry according to Energy Intelligence’s annual ranking of the world's top 50 oil and gas companies, which was published recently in Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW). It isthe only ranking system that compares private sector firms with national oil companies.The top three spots are held by national oil companies and over 60% of the top 25 firms are majority government-owned. Supermajors retain four of the Top 10 spots.

Highlights from the 2015 ranking include:

• Saudi Aramco tightened its already firm hold on the No. 1 spot for the 27th consecutive year as the most resource-rich national oil company
• The Top 50 companies produce 75% of global oil output
• Russia’s Rosneft moved ahead of its compatriot and rival Gazprom
• Total returned to the Top 10 on the strength of its downstream operations, bumping Chevron from the top tier for the first time in 14 years

“This year’s rankings seem to reflect the calm before the storm, before the impact and implications of the current oil price downturn have really been appreciated or felt,” PIW editor Jim Washer said. “Looking back 20 years, we can see that 14 of the companies in the PIW Top 50 in 1995 disappeared in the next few years mainly as a result of megamergers. We’re not expecting a similar shakeout from the current downturn, but this year’s rankings are likely to be a moment of stability before major change in the years ahead.”

The Top 10 companies in this year’s rankings are:

1. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia
2. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
3. China National Petroleum Company (CNPC)
4. ExxonMobil, US
5. Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)
6. Royal Dutch Shell, Netherlands/UK
7. BP, UK
8. Rosneft, Russia
9. Gazprom, Russia
10. Total, France

The list of the Top 50 companies can be viewed online (http://www2.energyintel.com/l/19202/2015-11-13/89f8mx) and the full report is available to subscribers of Petroleum Intelligence Weekly.

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The PIW Top 50 ranking has an unrivaled pedigree, having been executed annually for over 25 years. The ranking is based on six operational criteria and, unlike other corporate ranking systems in this industry, it allows for comparisons of both national oil companies and private sector firms. This unique ranking system is produced for Energy Intelligence’s flagship information service, with data compiled from our more detailed ranking tool, the Top 100: Global NOC & IOC Rankings.