Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Industry Profile

Companies in this industry develop and operate fields to extract crude oil and natural gas. Major companies include Apache, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil (all based in the US), as well as BP (the UK), LUKOIL and Tatneft (Russia), National Iranian Oil Company, PETROBRAS (Brazil), Royal Dutch Shell (the Netherlands), and Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia).

The global oil and gas exploration and production industry produces about 75 million barrels of oil per day and more than 100,000 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas annually. The largest oil-producing countries are Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the US. The largest natural gas producers are the US, Russia, Canada, and Iran.

The US oil and gas exploration and production industry consists of about 5,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $290 billion and is expected to have a high-growth rate over the next two years. Key growth drivers include rising demand for energy.

Petroleum refining, petroleum wholesale distribution, and retailing (fuel oil and LP gas dealers and gas stations) are covered in separate industry profiles.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by economic activity, population growth, and energy efficiency for residential, industrial, and transportation uses of oil and gas. Profitability of individual companies is driven by the success rate of new wells drilled and the ability to increase production from existing wells. Large companies are advantaged by access to capital, including the ability to buy or ...