Highlights
New era, familiar names
Oil and gas majors recoup leaderboard in Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings
• IOCs occupy first nine spots in return to old normal
• Higher energy prices and more demand post-COVID
• No Asia-Pacific firms in top 10
Integrated oil and gas majors are roaring back in S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings amid a strong rebound in their profitability, driven by rising oil and gas prices as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With mass vaccinations and the roll back of movement curbs across the globe, overall energy usage returned to a growth trajectory in 2021 and exceeded the level seen in 2019.
Global primary energy consumption increased by 5.8% last year, reversing a 4% fall in 2020 and exceeding the 2019 level by 1.3%, according to BP’s annual statistical review of world energy published this June.
Incremental consumption was recorded across various types of energy sources in 2021, with oil demand expanding by 6% to 94.1 million b/d and natural gas by 5.3% to 4,037 Bcm.
Taking a cue from the demand signals, oil and gas markets staged a strong recovery.
Platts Dated Brent, the leading benchmark assessment of the value of physical, light North Sea crude oil, averaged $70.91/b last year — the highest yearly average since 2018. This compared with $41.84/b in 2020.
Read the full report. Energy in the new era.