Conglin Xu
Senior Editor-Economics
Laura Bell
Statistics Editor
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 which financial results and production and reserves data are available. For many of the national oil companies in the report, though, no such information on assets, revenues, earnings, or capital expenditures is available. Therefore, the companies in OGJ100 are not ranked by assets or revenues but instead grouped by regions according to the location of their corporate headquarters.
All financial results that are included in this report are shown in US dollars. Due to exchange rate variation, the amount of financial results can be markedly affected when converted into US dollars.
In general, financial results of OGJ100 for 2017 improved compared with 2016, primarily reflecting higher commodity prices.
Canadian producers
A sample of 21 Canadian companies included in OGJ100 combined for a net income of $9.59 billion in 2017 compared with a collective net loss of $565 million for the same group a year earlier. In 2017, the Canadian dollar strengthened in relation to the US dollar with the average exchange rate increasing to 0.77 from 0.75.
Thirteen of the 21 Canadian companies reported positive income in 2017 compared with 7 such companies in 2016 and 3 in 2015. Eleven companies reported net income of more than $100 million in 2017, up from 6 such companies a year ago.
Supported by higher commodity prices and strong refining and marketing performance, Suncor Inc. recorded net earnings of $3.3 billion for 2017 compared with net earnings of just $322 million a year ago.
The Canadian group’s combined assets at yearend 2017 increased 14.5% to $283.9 million. Suncor Energy holds the most assets of the group, followed by Canadian Natural Resources and Imperial Oil Ltd.
The Canadian group’s collective capital expenditures in 2017 increased 28%, reaching $17.97 billion.
Their worldwide oil and natural gas production in 2017 decreased 4% and 2%, respectively, year-over-year. Worldwide oil reserves of the group increased 5.4% from a year ago, while natural gas reserves increased 11%.
European companies
Ranked by assets, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is the largest of the European companies in the OGJ100, followed by OAO Gazprom, BP PLC, and Total SA. The group of companies based in Europe recorded an estimated increase in earnings of 150% and an estimated increase in revenues of 28%.
Shell’s income was $13.43 billion in 2017 compared with $4.77 billion in 2016. Upstream earnings in 2017 were $1.55 billion compared with a loss of $3.67 billion in 2016. Liquids production of Shell in 2017 decreased slightly compared with 2016, mainly due to divestments and field declines.
BP’s profit for yearend 2017 was $3.46 billion compared with $172 million in 2016, and a loss of $6.5 billion in 2015. The increase was predominantly due to higher results in both upstream and downstream segments.
The European group’s collective capital spending increased 9.3% in 2017 from a year ago, mainly due to strong spending from Russian producers.
Gazprom’s capital expenditures in 2017 reached $25.76 billion, an increase of 27% from 2016. Transportation, oil and gas condensate production, and refining segments account for the bulk of the company’s capital expenditures. Other Russian producers, including OAO Lukoil and OAO Rosneft, also increased their capital spending during 2017.
Latin America producers
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) reported a net income of $169 million in 2017 compared with a net loss of $4.35 billion posted in 2016. In 2017, Petrobras recognized impairment charges of $1.2 billion, down from $6.2 billion in 2016. In 2017, the average real appreciated 8% against the US dollar, compared with a depreciation of 4.2% in 2016, and a depreciation of 42% in 2015.
In 2017, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has a net loss of $14.19 billion from $107.75 billion in total sales revenues, as compared to a net loss of $9.25 billion from $112.75 billion in total sales revenues in 2016. The increase in net loss was primarily due to higher impairments of fixed assets. The company’s crude oil production and natural gas production decreased by 9.5% and 12.5% from 2016 to 2017 because of field declines.
Asian companies
Reporting assets of $630.57 billion, PetroChina Co. Ltd. is again the largest of the Asia Pacific companies in the OGJ100, followed by Malaysia’s Petronas and China’s CNOOC.
For 2017, Petronas recorded a higher revenue of $52 billion on higher realized price, partially offset by lower volumes. Profit increased by 84% to $10.58 billion, attributable to lower net impairment and lower well costs.