This week’s issue includes Oil & Gas Journal’s popular OGJ200 report. The report is a mainstay for many industry analysts, company executives, and financial traders, who use the information to determine how companies are faring in comparison with their competitors. OGJ200 ranks oil and gas firms in 14 financial and operational categories.
OGJ200 lists oil and gas companies whose headquarters are in the US and are publicly traded. In addition, each company must have crude oil or natural gas reserves and production located in the US in order to be included in the rankings. The compilation of data is a comprehensive snapshot of annual results.
History of OGJ200
As most longtime OGJ subscribers know, the OGJ200 originally was named the OGJ400. It was first published on Oct. 17, 1983, at a time when oil and gas companies were plentiful but financial results were dismal. Companies were hit hard by declining domestic and worldwide demand for oil and gas. Energy prices were depressed. Companies dependent on production for revenue suffered greatly.
That listing of 400 industry firms differs greatly from the current report. Some of the top 20 corporations listed in 1983 have since merged or otherwise been consolidated with other entities. Examples are Standard Oil of California, Atlantic Richfield, Gulf Oil, Tenneco, and Panhandle Eastern.
The report shrank in 1991 to become the OGJ300. Consolidation, acquisitions, mergers, and liquidation contributed to the slide of the number of operating companies. That trend continued throughout the 1990s. The list fell below 300 in 1995 to 281. Continued decline led to a change in the report name to the OGJ200 in 1996. Even though the list was shrinking, total assets for the group remained steady. Financial performance was strong as the US and worldwide demand experienced growth and energy prices rose.
In 1998, energy prices plunged, hurting the financial performance of the OGJ200 companies. Of the 200 companies in the 1999 report, almost two-thirds posted net losses for 1998. Group net income was down 89% from the year before. Only three companies qualified to be listed in the top 20 fastest grower’s list, criteria for which include stockholder’s equity and earnings growth. This is the only time in the history of the report that this has occurred.
After 2001, the number of companies that qualify for listing in the OGJ200 fell below 200. It reached a low of 138 in 2006. This year’s report however, adds 12 companies to the group. Read about the group’s 2006 financial and operating results starting on p. 20.
Data collection
Data for this mammoth report come from companies’ 10-K reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional data items come from companies’ annual reports.
Every company must file a 10-K report with the SEC by deadlines that depend on the reported value of its public float, its stock shares available for trading. For instance, a corporation is deemed a “large accelerated filer” if it has more than $700 million of public float; it must file with the SEC within 75 days for fiscal years ending before Dec. 15, 2006, and 60 days for fiscal years ending on or after Dec. 15, 2006. An “accelerated” firm, with $75 million to $699 million of public float has 75 days, and a “small accelerated” firm has 90 days.
Smaller businesses can file an optional form for annual results or a transitional report called a 10-KSB; this form contains all data items that OGJ needs for inclusion to the OGJ200 listing.
OGJ starts collecting the data as soon as the information is available and continues to collect it up to our deadline. Occasionally, firms must file amendments to restate their financial results. In those cases, OGJ gathers and edits the data before going to print.
As a supplement to this report, quarterly financial results for the same group of companies are compiled and published in OGJ’s sister magazine, Oil & Gas Financial Journal. Only financial data are available quarterly for this group. They’re ranked in the same categories as the annual OGJ200. The August 2007 edition of OGFJ posts results for the quarter ending Mar. 31, 2007.
