Data provider S&P Global Platts has released its annual list of the world’s 250 top energy companies for 2022. Saudi Aramco retained the top spot, with Petrobras and Lukoil in second and third place. The top ten are all global oil giants.

A total of 46 companies from China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) made the list. Cnooc, Sinopec, and PetroChina ranked 11th, 12th, and 17th respectively. Cnooc is also the highest-ranked Chinese company.

According to the S&P Global website, the rankings are based on four key financial indicators: asset worth, revenues, profits, and return on invested capital (2021), and are calculated according to S&P’s specific formula.

Oil companies rebound strongly

The strong return of oil companies is the most prominent highlight in the list. The reason is that as the world recovers from the COVID-19 epidemic, oil and natural gas prices rise, and the profitability of these companies rebounds strongly.

Eighteen of the top 20 best-performing companies in the global energy sector are oil and gas companies; Among the top 100 companies in the list, there are 57 oil and gas companies (including oil and gas integration, oil and gas exploration and development, oil and gas refining and sales, oil and gas storage and transportation).In 2021, international oil companies occupy only three of the top 10 spots.

Still, the top spot on the list has never been shaken — Saudi Aramco’s ability to stay on top following its December 2019 initial public offering, which saw the state-controlled oil giant top the list for three years in a row. It is also by far the largest asset holder and the best profit generator in the global oil and gas industry.

Aramco was followed by another state-owned oil company, Petrobras, which ranked 41st last year. The company’s net income soared from $1.1 billion in 2020 to $19.9 billion in 2021.

The other companies in the top 10 are all familiar names, and they’re also some of the fastest-rising companies on this year’s list:
Exxonmobil regained its place among the top performers, climbing to fourth from 157th a year earlier; French giant Total, whose production portfolio is skewed towards gas, rose 140 places to sixth; Chevron jumped from 143rd to 8th; Shell jumped from 153rd to 9th.

Equinor, the Norwegian oil company, saw the biggest increase, climbing 165th to 7th on this year’s list. The state-backed professional oil company achieved an 11% return on investment and a three-year compound revenue growth rate of 4.7%.