With commodity prices reaching multi-year highs in 2022, the latest OGJ100 survey shows continued improvements in financial performance compared with the previous year.
Oil & Gas Journal’s look at the leading 100 oil and gas producing companies based outside the US allows for comparison of the size and results of the entities. For many of the national oil companies in the report, though, no such information on assets, revenues, earnings, or capital expenditures is available. Companies in the OGJ100 are grouped by regions according to the location of their corporate headquarters.
All financial figures presented in this report are denominated in US dollars. It is important to note that exchange rate fluctuations can substantially impact these financial results when converted into US dollars from local currencies.
The year 2022 marked a historic period as the US dollar strengthened against nearly every other major currency, reaching levels not witnessed in decades. This rise was fueled by the Federal Reserve’s robust interest rate hikes, strategically implemented to counteract inflation. As a result, the nominal broad dollar index, a metric employed to gauge the dollar’s value against a range of currencies widely used in international trade, saw an appreciation of over 12% throughout 2022.
Canadian oil and gas producers
In 2022, the Canadian dollar weakened in relation to the US dollar as the average exchange rate decreased to $0.77 from $0.80 in 2021. The decrease in the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar had a positive impact on price realizations for Canadian companies in 2022 when compared with 2021. Meantime, Western Canadian Select (WCS) at Hardisty averaged $75.95/bbl in 2022, up from $54.90/bbl in 2021 and $26.85/bbl in 2021.
A sample of 16 Canadian companies included in the OGJ100 reported a 45% increase in total revenues in 2022 to $198.93 billion. The combined net income was $33.3 billion in 2022, compared with collective earnings of $17.8 billion for the same group a year earlier.
Combined, the Canadian group’s assets at yearend 2022 decreased by 4% to $230 billion from $240 billion at yearend 2021. This decline was mostly attributed to the Canadian dollar’s relative weakness in comparison to the US dollar on Dec. 31, 2022, in contrast to the same period in the previous year. Total assets of the 16 companies increased by 3% when stated in Canadian dollars.
The Canadian group’s collective capital expenditures in 2022 increased 22% to $16.13 billion from $13.2 billion a year ago.
The group’s worldwide natural gas reserves saw a 7% increase in 2022 compared with the previous year, reaching 30.4 tcf. However, the worldwide oil reserves remained largely unchanged from the previous year.
Suncor Energy’s net income increased to $7 billion in 2022 from $3.3 billion in 2021. In 2022, Suncor divested its interest in Norway. Suncor’s proved gas reserves declined to 2 tcf at end-2022 from 13 tcf at end-2021 due to dispositions.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported net earnings of $8.4 billion in 2022, up from $6.1 billion in 2021. Cenovus Energy reported a net income of $5 billion for 2022, a significant improvement compared with earnings of $468 million in 2021. Imperial Oil’s net income was $5.6 billion for 2022, compared with earnings of $2 billion in 2021.
European oil and gas companies
Year-on-year comparisons of the group’s data were influenced by the absence of information from Russian companies and certain others. When excluding Russia and other entities with incomplete data, the OGJ100 companies based in Europe reported an estimated collective net income of $130 billion for 2022, compared with earnings of $75.5 billion recorded in the previous year.
Shell plc’s net income was $42.9 billion in 2022, compared with earnings of $20.6 billion in 2021. Integrated Gas earnings in 2022 were $22.2 billion, compared with $8 billion in 2021. Upstream earnings in 2022 were $16.2 billion, compared with $9.6 billion in 2021. Shell’s Chemicals and Products earnings in 2022 were $4.5 billion, compared with $404 million in 2021. Renewables and Energy Solutions earnings in 2022 were a loss of $1 billion, compared with a loss of $1.5 billion in 2021. The company’s oil and gas production both declined from a year ago due to divestments.
BP plc reported a loss of $1.35 billion in 2022 compared with earnings of $8.5 billion in 2021. The company decided to abandon its 19.75% stake in the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, taking a charge of $24 billion in its accounts. BP’s underlying profit, excluding account exceptional event, reached $27.7 billion in 2022, compared with $12.8 billion in 2021. Due to the exit from Russia, the company’s upstream production declined by 1%.
TotalEnergies reported a net income of $21 billion in 2022, compared with earnings of $16.4 billion in 2021.
Latin America oil and gas producers
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) reported a net income of $36.75 billion in 2022, compared with $19.98 billion in 2021. The company’s capital expenditure in 2022 increased to $9.6 billion from $6.3 billion a year earlier. In 2022, Petrobras’ total production of oil and gas, including NGL, declined 3% compared with 2021, due to divestment, decommissioning, and natural production decline.
Mexican state energy giant Pemex recorded a profit of $5.6 billion in 2022 after years of significant losses. In 2022, total revenue related to exploration and production activities increased by 39.7%, primarily due to the increase in crude oil export prices.
Asian, Middle East oil and gas companies
PetroChina Co. Ltd. is again the largest of the Asia Pacific companies in the OGJ100 by assets, followed by Petronas and China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. (CNOOC).
PetroChina’s net income jumped to $24.34 billion in 2022 from $17.78 billion in 2021 and $4.85 billion in 2020, thanks to higher realization prices and increased production. CNOOC’s profits increased to $21 billion in 2022, compared with $10.9 billion in 2021 and $3.6 billion in 2020.
Petronas made a profit of $23 billion in 2022, compared with earnings of $12.3 billion a year earlier.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco)’s total assets increased to $664.8 billion at yearend 2022 from $576.7 billion at yearend 2021. The company made a profit of $161 billion, compared with $110 billion for 2021, bolstered by higher commodity prices and growing oil production.
