The 2019 Global Oil Company Final Rankings Have Been Released—Let’s See How These Giants Stack Up

According to data provided by PIW, ExxonMobil does not rank among the top ten globally in either oil or natural gas reserves. However, it ranks 6th and 7th globally in oil and natural gas production, respectively. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s downstream operations stand out particularly: its refining capacity and petroleum product sales both rank 3rd worldwide. It is reported that ExxonMobil plans to sell multiple oil and gas field assets spanning at least 11 countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa, with a total value of up to $25 billion—the largest asset divestiture plan in the company’s decades-long history. The cash flow generated from this sale will be reinvested into key oil and gas field development projects—including those in Guyana, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and the United States. This may signal that oil companies are moving away from an era focused solely on scale-driven growth, shifting instead toward efficiency- and precision-oriented development. 05 NO.5 BP (British Petroleum) After climbing two places last year, BP has advanced again this year, overtaking Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to become one of the few oil companies on the list whose ranking has risen consecutively for multiple years. On this list, BP secured 5th place overall, leveraging its world No.2 position in petroleum product sales and relatively balanced oil and gas production levels. Since 2019, BP’s daily oil and gas output rose by 100,000 barrels quarter-on-quarter to reach 3.7 million barrels per day—driven largely by its acquisition of U.S. shale oil and gas assets from BHP Billiton Limited and by production from its nearly 20% stake in Rosneft. 06 NO.6 Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) PDVSA is Latin America’s largest oil enterprise, with proven recoverable reserves totaling 42.46 billion tons—ranking first globally. Yet PDVSA’s production lags far behind its reserves, placing it in the awkward position of “sitting atop a gold mine but starving.” Constrained by U.S. sanctions and Venezuela’s domestic economic crisis—and further hindered by the technical difficulty of extracting heavy oil from the Orinoco Belt (which accounts for 74% of its total recoverable reserves)—PDVSA’s daily oil output remains modest. The company forecasts that crude oil production will rebound in 2020 to exceed 2 million barrels per day. 07 NO.7 Rosneft Rosneft is Russia’s largest oil company. As an open joint-stock company, it is majority state-owned, with BP being its largest foreign shareholder. Data shows Rosneft ranks fourth globally in oil production—behind only the three major Middle Eastern national oil companies: Saudi Aramco, National Iranian Oil Company, and Iraq National Oil Company. Currently, Rosneft is actively developing new large-scale projects including the Suzun, East Messoyakha, Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye, Kuyumba, Tagul, Rusko, and Kovykta fields. Its average daily oil output increased by 0.9% in the first three quarters, reaching 4.67 million barrels per day—surpassing China’s total national daily oil output. 08 NO.8 Royal Dutch Shell Like most international oil companies, Shell does not hold a competitive advantage in oil and gas reserves or production volumes. Nevertheless, it achieved a strong ranking thanks to its world-leading petroleum product sales volume (339.15 million tons per year). It is understood that Shell—demonstrating acute commercial acumen—aims to become the world’s largest power company within 15 years, investing $1–2 billion annually in new energy sectors, primarily to expand its power business.

Top Ten Most Valuable Oil Companies Globally in 2024—China’s ‘Big Three’ Make the List

06. TotalEnergies — USD 151.8 billion TotalEnergies’ market capitalization stands at USD 151 billion, ranking 87th among the world’s most valuable companies. TotalEnergies is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the ‘Seven Sisters’ major oil companies. Its business spans the entire oil and gas value chain—from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, retail marketing of refined products, and international trading of crude oil and refined products. TotalEnergies is also a major chemical manufacturer. The company is a constituent of the European STOXX 50 stock market index. In the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 ranking, TotalEnergies ranked 21st among the world’s largest public companies. 05. Shell Group — USD 22.01 billion In 2024, Shell Group is one of the world’s largest mineral oil and natural gas companies. It operates in over 140 countries and employs approximately 83,000 people globally. Founded in 1907 through the merger of the Dutch Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the British ‘Shell’ Transport and Trading Company, Shell is a UK-based multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London. It is a publicly listed limited liability company, primarily traded on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange. As a core component of the global oil industry, Shell ranks second worldwide among investor-owned oil and gas companies in terms of revenue (after ExxonMobil). Meanwhile, the merged entity rapidly became a major competitor to Standard Oil of America; by 1920, Shell had become the world’s largest oil producer. 04. PetroChina — USD 24.31 billion PetroChina Company Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company and the listed subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China’s largest oil company, operating over 18,000 gas stations, and ranks among the world’s largest listed companies. PetroChina’s market capitalization stands at USD 24.3 billion, placing it 51st among the world’s most valuable companies—and making it one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. Moreover, it is currently Asia’s largest oil and gas producer. Additionally, this mainland-based company—listed in Hong Kong and New York—announced in November 2007 its plan to issue shares in Shanghai, subsequently becoming a constituent of the SSE 50 Index. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000 ranking, PetroChina ranked 32nd among the world’s largest listed companies. 03. Chevron — USD 28.4 billion Chevron is one of the world’s largest corporations and, by revenue, the second-largest U.S. oil company—trailing only ExxonMobil, the successor to Standard Oil. It is a U.S.-based multinational energy company primarily engaged in oil and natural gas operations. As the second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, Chevron was originally known as Standard Oil Company of California (abbreviated SoCal or CalSo). The company is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and operates in over 180 countries.

BP sells 49.9% stake in Indonesian petrol station venture, partner firm says

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BP sold its 49.9% stake in an Indonesian petrol station joint venture to AKR Corporindo for $14.22 million to simplify its portfolio. The move follows Indonesia's tightened fuel import rules affecting private retailers.

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