Ranked: The Largest Gas and Oil Companies in the World

Fossil fuel is the most used energy resource in the world and powers almost everything from transportation to industries. All economies in the world depend on petroleum reserves and petroleum-related products. Economies rich in oil and gas reserves have a big advantage over other industries.

The transportation sector uses the most oil reserves compared to other industries with the US (18.7 million barrels per day) and China (15.4 million barrels per day) being the biggest consumers.

The following are the biggest oil and gas companies in the world by market cap [11], which include refiners and crude producers. Almost half of these companies are from the US, while the remaining belong to other countries.

The Largest Gas and Oil Companies in the World

Name

Country

Market Cap (Feb, 2022) (11)

Revenue in 2022

1

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Arabia 

$1.817 Trillion

$552.25 Billion

2

ExxonMobil

US 

$428.96 Billion

$386.81 Billion

3

Chevron

US 

$326.18 Billion

$227.05 Billion

4

Shell

Netherlands 

$196.74 Billion

$365.29 Billion

5

TotalEnergies

France 

$149.72 Billion

$272.76 Billion

6

ConocoPhillips

US

$138.40 Billion

$75.05 Billion

7

PetroChina

China 

$127.69 Billion

$480.69 Billion

8

Equinor

Norway

$115.04 Billion

$147.88 Billion

9

BP (British Petroleum)

UK

$102.80 Billion

$222.68 Billion

10

Gazprom

Russia 

$73.26 Billion    

$138.28 Billion

1. Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco, also known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is the biggest oil company globally. It has its headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and has a market cap of $1.817 Trillion. Its total revenue is $552.25 Billion, which even passes the total revenue of some enormous tech enterprises like Google and Amazon. [1]

This large company employs over 70,000 people and is headed currently by Amin H. Nasser. This company is also responsible for building the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, which was the longest oil pipeline when it was built.

In Saudi Arabia, the oil and gas reserves make up 50% of its total GDP, and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company is responsible for the majority of the country’s Oil and Gas sector revenues as well as tax. Despite the company’s major setback due to the pandemic, it stayed ahead of its competitors.

2. ExxonMobil

Oil storage tanks at the Exxonmobil terminal in the Pernis harbor

ExxonMobil, also called Exxon Mobil Corporation, is the largest Oil and Gas Company in the United States. Its total revenue in USD is $428.96 Billion, and its market capitalization stands at US $386.81 Billion. Its headquartered in Irving, Texas.

The company employs over 70,000 people and specializes in selling petroleum-based products. It operates in a 3-tier system that includes Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical. The Upstream section manufactures oil and gas, the downstream segment trades as well as produces petroleum products, while the chemical section makes petroleum-based chemicals, resulting in cost effectiveness and enhanced value. [2]

3. Chevron

Chevron gas station

Founded in 1879, Chevron Oil and Gas Company operates in over 180 countries worldwide and employs over 40,000 people. It is also considered one of the six largest companies globally.

Chevron has its headquarters in San Ramon, California. It is a multinational energy corporation with total revenue of $227.05 Billion USD and a market capitalization of $326.18 Billion.

Its upstream segment works in the exploration and manufacture of oil and gas, and the downstream one focuses on refining and marketing, among other things. Apart from oil and gas, the company also focuses on other renewable forms of energy, including solar, hydrogen, and wind power, as well as technology development. [3]

4. Shell PLC.

Shell Oil Truck at the gas station

Shell was renamed to Shell plc after moving its headquarters to London in 2022. It was formed through the merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, Netherlands, and The Shell Transport and Trading Company in the UK in 1907. It works in the exploration, manufacture, refining, and marketing of oil and natural gas.

It has a total market cap of $196.74 Billion and a revenue of $365.29 Billion. It operates in more than 70 countries and employs around 86,000 people.

It specializes in promoting renewable energy resources. They have been investing in building a sustainable energy future, including wind, solar, and hydrogen energy resources. It is working towards the goal of cutting its emissions in half by 2050. [4]

5. TotalEnergies

Exterior view of the headquarters of the oil company TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a France-based, multinational, integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Courbevoie, France. It was founded in 1924 and is among the 7 ’supermajor’ oil companies. It is a public company and employs over 100,000 people.

It has a $149.72 Billion market cap and total revenue of $272.76 Billion. It operates in over 130 countries worldwide. On the Fortune Global 500 (2020) index, it ranked as the 29th largest company globally with gas stations all around the world.

It is focused on the exploration, production, and refining of oil and natural gas. It also has sectors focused on power generation, trading, and the transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Moreover, it is a major manufacturer of chemicals and petroleum-based products. [6]

6. ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips is a US-based independent oil and gas corporation that operates multi-nationally with its headquarters in Houston, Texas. It is focused on exploring and manufacturing hydrocarbon. It has a total market capitalization of $138.40 Billion and total revenue of $75.05 Billion.

Among independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, it is one of the biggest globally. It operates in six segments, including Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe, Canada, Alaska and North Africa. ConocoPhillips is an integrated company as it explores, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, bitumen, and LNG globally. [8]

7. PetroChina

PetroChina

An arm of CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation), PetroChina is headquartered in Beijing and one of the biggest in the Asian oil and gas industry. The state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation was established in 1999 and ranks in the top 50 big global corporations.

PetroChina has a total revenue of $480.69 Billion and a $127.69 Billion market cap. It employs more than 410,000 people and is amongst the largest companies in the world according to the number of employees (second only to Russia’s Gazprom).

PetroChina focuses on the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of crude oil, gas, and petroleum-related products as well as chemicals. It also has a gas and pipeline sector that focuses on the transportation of gas, oil, and refined products within the country. [5]

8. Equinor

With its plans focused on generating renewable energy, Equinor is a Norwegian company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Formerly Statoil, Equinor was established as Norwegian State Oil Company in 1972, two years after the discovery of Statfjord field in the North Sea.

The company boasts a market cap of $115.04 Billion and generated $222.68 Billion in revenues. It has operations in around 30 countries, including Norway, Europe, Africa, South America and the Oceania. It employs more than 21,000 people in different countries and experienced one of it’s most profitable quarter in 2022 due to increase in oil prices at a global level.

9. BP

BP's Canadian head office

BP, also known as the British Petroleum Company plc, is a British Oil and Gas Company with its headquarters located in London, UK. It is among the 7 ‘supermajor’ oil and gas companies.

BP has a total market cap of $102.80 Billion and a total revenue of $222.68 Billion. BP plc’s business is divided into 3 categories; upstream, downstream, and other renewables. Its largest sector is downstream, amounting to about 70% of its total revenue. BP has been widely criticized for causing many environmental hazards, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. [9]

10. Gazprom

Logo of the Gazprom headquarters for Serbia

Gazprom is a multinational energy corporation based in Russia. It is state-owned and has its headquarters in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In Russia, it is the largest oil and natural gas company, having the ownership of much of the gas reserves there. In fact, Gazprom is the largest company of any type in Russia. It employs more people than any other oil and gas company, with the number being 478,000 approximately.

Gazprom has a total market cap of $73.26 B Billion and total revenue of $138.28 Billion. Its primary business is the production and transportation of gas to supply it to local industries as well as to other European and Asian countries. [7]

Conclusion

The oil and gas sector continues to be the major energy producer in the world. Due to the high demand for petroleum and petroleum-based products, many of these companies operate globally and are one of the largest revenue earners for their countries.

However, oil and gas companies also continue to be the leading greenhouse gas emitters in the world, either directly or indirectly, through the use of their supplied products. Thus, many of these companies have been moving towards renewable energy resources, including hydrogen, solar, and wind.

References

  1. What is Saudi Aramco? (2019, April 3). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/what-is-saudi-aramco-4682590
  2. ExxonMobil streamlines structure to enhance effectiveness, grow value, reduce costs. (n.d.). ExxonMobil. https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/news/newsroom/news-releases/2022/0131_exxonmobil-streamlines-structure-to-enhance-effectiveness-grow-value-reduce-costs
  3. Parker, G. (2020, April 8). 20 things you didn’t know about chevron. Money Inc. https://moneyinc.com/chevron/
  1. Royal Dutch Shell. (n.d.). Info:Main Page – New World Encyclopedia. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Royal_Dutch_Shell
  2. PetroChina. (n.d.). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/companies/petrochina/?sh=3a55e88e841e
  3. TOT. (n.d.). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/markets/quote?tvwidgetsymbol=TOT
  4. Gazprom. (2021, September 24). Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/2291/gazprom/#topicHeader__wrapper
  5. ConocoPhillips Overview. (2022). ConocoPhillips. https://static.conocophillips.com/files/resources/20-0018-2020-corporate-fact-sheets-company-overvie.pdf
  6. BP. (2022, May 4). Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/1967/bp-plc
  7. Rosneft. (n.d.). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/companies/rosneft/?sh=2308801b498d
  8. Largest oil and gas companies by market cap. (n.d.). Companies ranked by Market Cap – CompaniesMarketCap.com. https://companiesmarketcap.com/oil-gas/largest-oil-and-gas-companies-by-market-cap/