Exploring the world’s three biggest oil and gas companies

For decades, various industries have been dependent on oil and petroleum companies for the maintenance and development of civilization. According to a report, natural gas is the fastest growing fossil fuel in terms of global consumption and is projected to increase 1.7 percent annually, creating an international market similar to oil.

This Forbes article lists the world’s top oil companies based on their overall volume of production of oil and gas. The following take the top three spots:

Image Source: forbes.com

In third place, the National Iranian Oil Co. produces 6.4 million barrels of oil and gas per day. Since its establishment in 1951, the company has been one of the world’s largest oil companies through its exploration, drilling, production, research and development, refining, distribution and export of oil, gas, and petroleum products.

Image Source: en.ria.ru/business

The second biggest company is Russia’s Gazprom. Dubbed as the world’s largest producer of natural gas, Gazprom specializes in geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sale of gas, gas condensate and oil, and gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as the generation and marketing of heat and electric power. The company owns 18 and 72 percent of the global and Russian gas reserves, respectively.

Image Source: forbes.com

Finally, taking the top spot is Saudi Aramco, which produces 12.5 million barrels of oil in a day. For 80 years, the company has been a world leader in hydrocarbons exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping, and marketing, as well as a leading exporter of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Dr. Ali Ghalambor is a renowned petroleum engineer who has delivered numerous technical presentations and courses that discuss aspects of petroleum production. Learn more about his insights about the industry by following this Twitter account.

REPOST: Fracking bills flop after gusher of opposition cash, report says

Several bills on hydraulic fracturing have been opposed by the California Legislature. This Los Angeles Times article has the story.



Campaign contributions from the oil industry flooded into the California Legislature before it killed several bills that would have closely regulated the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to get oil and gas from the ground, a nonprofit group reports.

In the two years ending Dec. 31, 2012, oil companies Chevron, British Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Valero Energy contributed $464,450 to state legislators, according to MapLight, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization.

Of 12 bills on fracking, 10 stalled or were voted down by the deadline last month, including one, AB 1323, that would have imposed a moratorium.

Interest groups opposing AB 1323 contributed 7.1 times as much money as groups supporting it, MapLight concluded, using data from the National Institute of Money in State Politics.

State lawmakers voting against the bill received, on average, 31 times as much money from opposing groups as supporting groups, MapLight found.

It also said lawmakers who didn't vote at all received five times as much money from opposing groups as from supporting groups. All of those who withheld their votes are Democrats.

The issue is not dead for the year.

One of the bills still pending, SB 4 by Sen Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), would require public notice and groundwater testing on fracking projects, but Pavley has agreed to remove from the bill a requirement for a moratorium if a study of the practice is not completed by 2015.


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