Oil & Gas Journal's annual report on the performance of the top 200 publicly owned oil and gas firms in the U.S. has become something of an institution in the industry.
Many industry executives view the OGJ200 as a "must read." These professionals sometimes use the data to make tough decisions about mergers and business strategies. Therefore, it is imperative that the list be as comprehensive as possible.
But as this year's OGJ200 deadline approached, I wondered desperately if the list would still contain 200 companies. Several firms have fallen off the list due to mergers, bankruptcy, or because they simply hadn't filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
As an editor of this report, it was my duty to find those missing companies and add any new ones. After scouring my list of company addresses, the EDGAR database, and various web sites, at last I found Company No. 200 a couple of days before deadline.
New and improved - Journal editors are always searching for ways to make the magazine more useful to our readers and often take suggestions from them. In this year's report, beginning on p. 49, a few changes were made to the types of companies listed.
In the past, we included a few parent companies that operated mainly outside the exploration and production sector, while, for other companies, we included only their E&P operations. To make things fair and comparable, the list now includes only companies' E&P data. (To qualify, at least 50% of a company's total revenue must come from oil and gas operations.)
So, in this year's report, you may find that a company dropped in total assets compared with last year. This is not necessarily the result of a bad year; in some cases, it is because only their E&P operations are included.
A tough year - It will come as no surprise to anyone that 1998 was tough on the industry. To put things into perspective, of the 200 companies listed this year, only 69 posted a net income, compared with 139 last year.
In the fastest-growing companies table, which ranks firms based on growth in stockholder equity, only 3 companies met OGJ's criteria for the list, whereas normally we have to narrow it down to the top 20. (Only companies with positive net income for 1997 and 1998 were considered, and firms whose net income declined in 1998 were ineligible.)
Since this year's report was laid to rest, the file for next year is already getting filled with press releases announcing more mergers and acquisitions. No one knows who will survive another year of operating in this ever-changing and risky business, but you can help me keep track by sending me your company's annual and 10-K reports. Or, if you are a private company thinking of going public, please send me your prospectus. Without this information, your company cannot be included in the listing. Remember that you have to have reserves and production in the U.S. to be qualified.
No one wants to see the list get any shorter. So, with this in mind, I wish each company good luck and smart business strategies to survive one more year.
Laura Bell
Statistics Editor
