OGJ100 reveals strong earnings growth outside the US

The OGJ100 shows that many non-US-based companies last year reaped financial rewards comparable to those headquartered in the US.

Oil & Gas Journal's survey of the 100 leading oil and gas producing firms based outside the US reveals that 2003 net income and revenues were mostly improved from 2002 results. Again, there were few changes among the leaders in oil production and reserves, with national oil companies dominant.

Click here to view the OGJ100 in PDF.

The OGJ100 list allows comparison of size and performance of prominent oil and gas companies around the world. Instead of being ranked as in the OGJ200, the companies are grouped by region according to the location of their corporate headquarters. OGJ does not attempt to rank the firms by assets or revenues because many do not report financial results.

All financial results that are included in this report are shown in US dollars.

Financial results

Complete sets of data for the financial performance of those companies in the survey that are based in Canada and Latin America show the results of sustained strong oil and gas prices during 2003. For the 32 firms that are based in Canada, net income increased 110% from 2002, and their collective revenue jumped 39%. The Canadian companies' assets at the end of last year were up 31%, and during 2003, they spent 21% more on capital and exploration outlays than during the previous year.

The largest Canadian firm in terms of yearend 2003 assets is Calgary-based EnCana Corp. EnCana, which was formed through the merger of Calgary firms PanCanadian Energy Corp. and Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. in April 2002, reported assets of $24.1 billion, up from yearend 2002 assets of $19.9 billion. The company reported that its profit last year surged 191% to $2.36 billion. Following EnCana in terms of assets is PetroCanada, with assets of $8.7 billion. The third-largest Canadian firm in the survey is Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which posted yearend assets of $8.6 billion.

Among the surveyed companies based in Latin America, 2003 net income improved 64% from the previous year's results, and assets grew 25%. These firms increased capital spending 24% over their 2002 expenditures. The largest companies in this region are Petróleos Mexicanos, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, and Petróleo Brasileiro SA.

Production, reserves leaders

There are few changes and no surprises on the lists of the top 20 non-US-based companies as ranked by oil production and reserves (see table). Saudi Aramco again tops each of these lists, with 2003 oil production of 3 billion bbl and yearend oil reserves totaling 259 billion bbl. Among the production leaders, the biggest gainer was Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), which was the seventh-biggest 2003 producer. For 2002 production, NNPC ranked at No. 10 on this list. The only company on the leaders' list that wasn't there last year is Malaysia's Petronas, which knocked Petroleum Development Oman LLC off the list.