Shell Tops Global Oil and Gas Companies

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Europe's Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) has shot ahead of rival Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XMO) (ExxonMobil) as the world's leading oil and gas company.

The company has been ranked 11th-largest publicly traded company in the Forbes Global 2000 list, ahead of ExxonMobil in 13th position. While ExxonMobil's place remained unchanged from 2016, Shell jumped from 20th place in 2016, boosted by higher sales due to strong commodity prices. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) ranked as the third-biggest oil and gas company on the list, ranked 21st overall, compared to 359th overall in 2016, due to a loss of $431 million attributed to lower commodity prices, among other things. French firm Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France) ranked fourth, with China's Sinopec taking fifth.

The fortunes of the oil and gas companies were considerably stronger this year with much healthier financial results across the board, buoyed by higher oil prices, Forbes concluded. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude averaged $51 per barrel in 2017, up $7 per barrel over the previous year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). At one point, WTI oil prices surpassed $72 per barrel before dropping to about $65 when oil representatives from Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would increase production later in the year.

Andy Lipow of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates said that he expects Brent oil prices to bounce back up to $80 as Venezuelan production falls, the impact of Iranian sanctions on supply becomes clearer and "Saudi Arabia prefers higher prices in advance of the Aramco IPO."

The listing shows that the top 25 oil and gas companies on the Forbes Global 2000 earned $144.6 billion on sales of $2.9 trillion during the list's 12-month measurement period, significantly up from $73 billion in earnings on sales of $2.2 trillion in 2016 and $81 billion in earnings on sales of $2.6 trillion in 2015.

Industrial Info has been actively tracking the rise in Shell's performance over the past year, thanks largely to improved refining and higher production from its new fields alongside stronger oil, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices seen across the Oil & Gas Industry. In addition, the company has offloaded many of its less profitable businesses. Industrial Info is tracking about $113 billion in active projects involving Shell, including more than $48 billion set to begin construction and more than $17 billion set to finish construction in 2018. For additional information, see February 6, 2018, article - Shell's Prosperous 2017 Reflected in $48 Billion of Kickoffs, Completions in 2018.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.