Changing Of The Guard  

Rigzone has an article from PFC Energy noting the dramatic shift in the landscape of the world oil industry, from the International Oil Companies to the National Oil Companies.

Three years ago, the top six names on the PFC Energy 50 ranking of the world's largest oil & gas industry companies were ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni. This year's top six include Petrochina, Gazprom, Sinopec and Petrobras, National Oil Companies (NOCs), whose shares are traded on public markets, but which are majority-owned by the governments of China, Russia and Brazil. The preeminent positions of these NOCs on the PFC Energy 50 list reflect a profound change in the global energy industry. With some 65% of oil and gas reserves off-limits to International Oil Companies (IOCs), the majors are finding it increasingly difficult to deliver growth in reserves and production, while the NOCs offer more convincing growth prospects.

"The financial sector recognizes that NOCs have superior access to resources and booming domestic markets," said J. Robinson West, Chairman of PFC Energy. "Despite their enormous earnings, IOCs must communicate a new vision for growth."

During 2007, Petrochina edged ExxonMobil out of the first place position it has occupied on every previous PFC Energy 50 list, while Sinopec rose from twelfth to fifth position and Brazilian NOC Petrobras climbed from eleventh to sixth. ...

Technology will be a crucial factor in differentiating oil and gas companies in the future and this year's PFC Energy includes the first ever ranking of the industry's Top R&D spenders. In the lead are Royal Dutch Shell with the highest absolute R&D spending (over $1 billion) and service company Baker Hughes, which spends the largest percentage of revenues (3.6%). Despite these substantial figures, the oil and gas industry's R&D expenditures are dwarfed by those of other industries.