Oil is one of the main sources of global energy consumption.
In Europe and Asia oil accounts for around 32 percent of total energy consumption and in the Middle East it accounts for more than half.
Below is a list of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, according to the Fortune Global 500 ranking.*
*The ranking lists the top oil/gas companies by net revenue.
The top 10 biggest oil and gas companies:
1. Royal Dutch Shell
Revenue: 481 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public
Company headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands
Registered office: London, England
Employees: 87,000
More information: Shell not only ranks number one on this ranking of the biggest oil and gas companies, it is the largest company in the world. As of July, 2012, Royal Dutch Shell is the largest company on the FTSE. Shell produces close to 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
2. Exxon Mobil
Revenue: 449 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public
Company headquarters: Irving, Texas, USA
Employees: 76,900
More information: ExxonMobil is the largest refiner in the world and is the third largest company in the world in terms of revenue. Exxon produces 3.921 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
3. Sinopec
Revenue: 428 million USD (2012)
Type: Public limited company
Company headquarters: Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
Employees: 376,201
More information: Sinopec is also known as the “China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation”. The company is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in New York and Shanghai.
4. China National Petroleum Corporation
Revenue: 406 billion USD (2012)
Type: Government owned corporation
Company headquarters: Dongcheng District, Beijing, China
Employees: 1,656,465
More information: China National Petroleum Corporation has partnered up with the governments of Iraq, Qatar, and other oil rich nations.
5. BP
Revenue: 388 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public limited company
Company headquarters: London, England
Employees: 85,700
More information: BP is also known by its former name British Petroleum. BP is the fifth largest company in the world in terms of revenue and operates in over 80 countries.
6. Total S.A.
Revenue: 234 billion USD (2012)
Type: Société Anonyme
Company headquarters: Paris, France
Employees: 97,126
More information: Total has been looking into the possibility of extending its services and entering the nuclear power sector.
7. Chevron
Revenue: 233 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public
Company headquarters: San Ramon, California, USA
Employees: 62,000
More information: Chevron is active in more than 180 countries across the world. The company recently spent over $36.7 billion on exploration and refinery upgrades to improve oil output.
8. Phillips 66
Revenue: 169 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public
Company headquarters: Houston, Texas, USA
Employees: 13,500
More information: On May, 2012, Phillips 66, a spin-off from ConocoPhillips, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
9. Eni
Revenue: 167 billion USD (2012)
Type: Società per azioni
Company headquarters: Rome, Italy
Employees: 77,838
More information: Eni S.p.A is Italy’s largest industrial company. Eni was originally an acronym for “Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi”, which means “national hydrocarbons authority”.
10. Gazprom
Revenue: 153 billion USD (2012)
Type: Public
Company headquarters: Moscow, Russia
Employees: 417,000
More information: Gazprom has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and accounts for close to a quarter of the European natural gas market.