

2021 Oil and Gas Benchmark
Measuring the 100 most influential companies on their progress to 1.5°C

WBA’s third Climate and Energy Benchmark measures and ranks the world’s 100 most influential oil and gas companies on their low-carbon transition.
The Oil and Gas Benchmark is the first comprehensive assessment of companies in the oil and gas sector using the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. The benchmark, developed with CDP and ADEME, assesses 100 keystone listed and state-owned oil and gas companies’ targets and performance against their 1.5°C (2.7°F) pathways to see if they are on track to meet the Paris Agreement goal.
In this new era for energy production, oil and gas companies are at a crossroads: transform or become redundant. They can no longer plead ignorance of how urgently change is needed. The industry must acknowledge the wholesale transformation required to survive and signal the steps it is taking to meet this challenge.

Five key findings
The Oil and Gas Benchmark shows evidence of a systemic lack of accountability and action by the 100 companies. It paints a worrying picture of the state of play in one of the most significant sectors for the low-carbon transition. Despite glimpses of good practice in specific areas, companies are still in need of stronger leadership, more investment and greater transparency to scale the vast ambition and performance gap that exists in the sector. Read our key findings below.
Staying within 1.5°C means companies must keep oil and gas in the ground
Production from already approved oil and gas fields of the 100 companies will burn through and breach the 1.5°C carbon budget of the sector by 2037. Despite this calamitous trajectory, the most influential companies in the sector are purposefully going in the opposite direction, pursuing a ‘take what you can, while you can’ approach. Companies must transition away from oil and gas, not just to keep our planet safe but to ensure their own survival in a low-carbon economy.
Smoke and mirrors: companies are deflecting attention from their inaction and ineffective climate strategies
Too many of the 100 companies deploy smoke-and-mirrors tactics to divert attention from their inaction and avoid accountability. They report that climate change is managed by boards, but only five out of the 100 are found to have the needed expertise. Companies’ current climate change strategies are largely ineffective. And rather than rising to the challenge, they are using a lack of transparency and arms-length lobbying through trade associations to undermine climate action.

Greatest contributors to climate change show limited recognition of emissions responsibility through targets and planning
Non-transparent, unambitious or non-existent targets and strategies from the greatest contributors to climate change show they are not accepting their responsibility for global emissions. Scope 3 emissions in particular are the biggest source of emissions for the sector – some companies’ scope 3 emissions are equivalent to emissions of whole countries. Our analysis finds a systemic lack of scope 3 accountability, with only three companies having comprehensive emissions reduction targets.
Empty promises: companies’ capital expenditure in low-carbon technologies not nearly enough
Despite their stated low-carbon commitments, companies aren’t walking the talk when it comes to investment in technology to drive the transition. Scenario analysis and investment in a low-carbon future is shockingly low across the 100 companies. Only 30 companies reported their proportion of capital expenditure (CapEx) for low-carbon and mitigation technologies in 2019. Further, existing low-carbon revenue streams are insignificant and the share of CapEx companies are allocating to low-carbon technologies is entirely insufficient to decarbonise at the scale and pace required.
National oil companies: big emissions, little transparency, virtually no accountability
Companies with state ownership are slower to transition than the Majors and Independents. This poor performance is an even bigger risk to climate ambition than that of publicly listed and private companies. Companies with state ownership account for majority of current and expected emissions in the sector. Many of the states involved have made no commitment to net-zero emissions and there is limited ability for non-government stakeholders to push for change.

See how the companies performed
View rankingCase study
Our Oil and Gas Benchmark assesses the 100 most globally influential, keystone players in the industry and their performance towards a low-carbon future. Here, we have looked at five of these influential companies within the context of their headquarter region. We’ve zoomed in on their size, practices, and alignment with regional decarbonisation pathways to illustrate their footprint and impact in the regions where they operate. We focus on these five companies to trigger conversation and action on the low-carbon transition.
- Ecopetrol
- Exxon Mobil
- OMV
- Origin Energy
- Pertamina
Where are the 100 companies headquartered?
Locations
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Title: Basra Oil Company (BOC)
Place: Baghdad, Iraq
Description: -
Title: Pioneer Natural Resources
Place: Irving, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen (PKN Orlen)
Place: Plock, Poland
Description: -
Title: PTT
Place: Bangkok, Thailand
Description: -
Title: Qatar Petroleum
Place: Doha, Qatar
Description: -
Title: Reliance Industries
Place: Mumbai, India
Description: -
Title: Repsol
Place: Madrid, Spain
Description: -
Title: Rosneft
Place: Russia
Description: -
Title: Royal Dutch Shell
Place: The Hague, Netherlands
Description: -
Title: Santos
Place: Adelaide, Australia
Description: -
Title: Saras
Place: Sarroch, Sardinia, Italy
Description: -
Title: Sasol
Place: Sandton, South Africa
Description: -
Title: Saudi Aramco
Place: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Description: -
Title: Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group
Place: Xi'an, China
Description: -
Title: Sinochem Energy
Place: Beijing, China
Description: -
Title: SK Innovation
Place: Seoul, South Korea
Description: -
Title: Sonangol
Place: Luanda, Angola
Description: -
Title: Sonatrach
Place: Algiers, Algeria
Description: -
Title: State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)
Place: Baku, Azerbaijan
Description: -
Title: Suncor Energy
Place: Calgary, Canada
Description: -
Title: Surgutneftegas
Place: Surgut, Russia
Description: -
Title: Targa Resources
Place: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Tatneft
Place: Almetyevsk, Russia
Description: -
Title: Total
Place: France
Description: -
Title: Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri
Place: İzmit, Turkey
Description: -
Title: TurkmenGaz
Place: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Description: -
Title: Ultrapar
Place: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Description: -
Title: Valero Energy
Place: San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Varo Energy
Place: Cham, Switzerland
Description: -
Title: Viva Energy Group
Place: Melbourne, Australia
Description: -
Title: Woodside Petroleum
Place: Perth, Australia
Description: -
Title: YPF
Place: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Description: -
Title: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (Q8)
Place: Kuwait City, Kuwait
Description: -
Title: Lukoil
Place: Russia
Description: -
Title: Marathon Oil
Place: Houston, Texas, USA
Description: -
Title: Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Place: Findlay, Ohio, USA
Description: -
Title: MOL Magyar Olajes Gazipari Nyrt
Place: Budapest, Hungary
Description: -
Title: Naftogaz
Place: Kyiv, Ukraine
Description: -
Title: National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
Place: Tehran, Iran
Description: -
Title: National Oil Corporation of Libya
Place: Tripoli, Libya
Description: -
Title: Naturgy Energy
Place: Madrid, Spain
Description: -
Title: Neste
Place: Espoo, Finland
Description: -
Title: NGL Energy Partners
Place: Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Description: -
Title: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
Place: Abuja, Nigeria
Description: -
Title: NK KazMunayGaz
Place: Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Description: -
Title: Novatek
Place: Moscow, Russia
Description: -
Title: Occidental Petroleum
Place: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
Place: New Delhi, India
Description: -
Title: OMV
Place: Vienna, Austria
Description: -
Title: Origin Energy
Place: Sydney, Australia
Description: -
Title: PBF Energy
Place: Parsippany, New Jersey, USA
Description: -
Title: Pertamina
Place: Jakarta, Indonesia
Description: -
Title: Petroecuador
Place: Quito, Ecuador
Description: -
Title: Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras)
Place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Description: -
Title: Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)
Place: Caracas, Venezuela
Description: -
Title: Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)
Place: Mexico City, Mexico
Description: -
Title: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)
Place: Muscat, Oman
Description: -
Title: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS)
Place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Description: -
Title: PetroSA
Place: Cape Town, South Africa
Description: -
Title: Phillips 66
Place: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Devon Energy Corp
Place: Oklahoma City, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Ecopetrol
Place: Bogota, Colombia
Description: -
Title: Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC)
Place: Cairo, Egypt
Description: -
Title: Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC)
Place: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Description: -
Title: ENEOS Holdings
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Description: -
Title: Engie
Place: Paris, France
Description: -
Title: Eni
Place: Rome, Italy
Description: -
Title: Enterprise Products Partners
Place: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: EOG Resources
Place: Houston, Texas, USA
Description: -
Title: Equinor
Place: Stavanger, Norway
Description: -
Title: Exxon Mobil
Place: Irving, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Formosa Petrochemical Corp
Place: Yunlin County, Taiwan, China
Description: -
Title: GAIL (India)
Place: New Delhi, India
Description: -
Title: Galp Energia
Place: Lisbon, Portugal
Description: -
Title: Gazprom
Place: Moscow, Russia
Description: -
Title: GS Holdings
Place: Seoul, South Korea
Description: -
Title: Hellenic Petroleum
Place: Athens, Greece
Description: -
Title: Hess Corporation
Place: New York, New York, United States of America
Description: -
Title: HollyFrontier
Place: Dallas, Texas, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Idemitsu Kosan
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Description: -
Title: Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil)
Place: New Delhi, India
Description: -
Title: Inpex
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Description: -
Title: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
Place: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Description: -
Title: Ampol Limited
Place: Sydney, Australia
Description: -
Title: Apache Corporation
Place: Houston, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Place: Mumbai, India
Description: -
Title: BHP Group
Place: Melbourne, Australia
Description: -
Title: bp
Place: London, United Kingdom
Description: -
Title: California Resources Corporation
Place: Los Angeles, USA
Description: -
Title: Canadian Natural Resources
Place: Calgary, Canada
Description: -
Title: Cenovus Energy
Place: Calgary, Canada
Description: -
Title: Chesapeake Energy Corp
Place: Oklahoma City, USA
Description: -
Title: Chevron Corporation
Place: San Ramon, USA
Description: -
Title: China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC Group)
Place: Beijing, China
Description: -
Title: China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
Place: Beijing, China
Description: -
Title: China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Limited (Sinopec)
Place: Beijing, China
Description: -
Title: Compania Espanola de Petroleos SAU (CEPSA)
Place: Madrid, Spain
Description: -
Title: ConocoPhillips
Place: Houston, United States of America
Description: -
Title: Cosmo Energy Holdings
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Description: -
Title: CPC Corporation, Taiwan
Place: Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China
Description:
Further reading
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Insights Report
This report builds on the above mentioned key findings in detail and dives further into the module level summaries.
See report here -
ACT and WBA – Technical FAQs
These FAQs explain technical aspects of how the ACT methodologies are used to assess companies in high emitting sectors and create WBA’s Climate and Energy Benchmark.
See FAQs here -
Benchmark Data
Access the datasheet which compiles company-level information and module scoring. You can also find the assessment summaries per module for each company and data availability information. It complements the benchmark’s ranking, company scorecards, case studies and insights report.
See datasheet here