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.

Key finding

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.

Leadership gap in climate change expertise
Key finding

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.

Key finding

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.

Key finding

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.

Key finding

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 ranking

Case 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.

The five selected companies are:
  • Ecopetrol
  • Exxon Mobil
  • OMV
  • Origin Energy
  • Pertamina

Where are the 100 companies headquartered?

Locations

  • 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 (SABIC)
    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

  • 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