SINGAPORE, Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing influence of Asian companies in the world's energy markets was demonstrated once again with the unveiling of the 2013 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings(TM). Asian companies moved up in both number and position when Platts, a leading global commodity information provider, announced its annual financial performance rankings, now in its 12(th) year, at a gala event in Singapore Tuesday night.

Emblematic of this growth was China's CNOOC Limited (Ltd.), which has climbed 64 places since the launch of the Top 250 Rankings in 2002. Not only did it take first place in the exploration and production sector in the 2013 rankings, it advanced into 12(th) place in the global Top 250 and ranked ninth among Asia's fastest growing companies. In the wake of its recently closed $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen, CNOOC appears destined to break into the top 10 next year.

CNOOC's impressive strides were among the many reasons that Mr. Li Fanrong, the company's president and chief executive officer, was chosen by an independent panel of judges over four other contenders as Platts' first-ever "Asia CEO of the Year."

"Platts established this award to honor the Asian energy executive who best exemplified company, industry and community leadership," said Larry Neal, president of Platts and host of the dinner. "Mr. Li Fanrong, whose accomplishments last year ranged from spearheading global acquisitions and achieving outstanding financial performance to funding school science programs, was an outstanding fit. We congratulate him on his impressive leadership win."

China Eclipses Long-Dominant Texas in Representation

With CNOOC's regional peers also making strides, Asia-Pacific claimed 74 placements in the Top 250, up four from a year ago. The region also scored in the list of global fastest-growing companies, with Cairn India Ltd. retaining first place for the second consecutive year based on its three-year compound growth rate (CGR) of 121%.

China's energy placements in the overall Top 250, at 27, eclipsed for the first time the number of Texas-based U.S. rivals that have long dominated the list.

Still it was Texas' ExxonMobil that secured first place in the overall rankings for the ninth consecutive year, followed by U.S.' Chevron Corp. and Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell. The top 10 companies, which were all integrated oil and gas companies (IOGs), generated a combined profit of $211 billion for fiscal 2012 on revenues of $2.67 trillion

But Western dominance was on the ebb. Chinese and Russian national oil companies (NOCs) captured four of the leading 10 spots, up four-fold from 2002. Russia's OJSC Gazprom ranked fourth among the world's energy companies, followed by Norway's Statoil ASA and France's Total SA, Russia's LUKOIL Oil Company, China's PetroChina Company Limited (Ltd.), Russia's OJSC Rosneft Oil Company and China's Sinopec or China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.

While the Americas region garnered a smaller slice of the Top 250 list year over year - 106 places versus last year's 113 - its performance was aided by shale plays and tight oil developments. On a three-year CGR basis, 15 of the world's 50 best-performing energy companies were North American, up from just six in the prior year. Americas' gain was Asia's loss. Twenty Asian players - nine less than last year - were placed among the 50 fastest growing companies.

EMEA & Refining Strides

U.K.'s Africa-focused exploration pioneer Tullow Oil, with a three-year CGR of 36.8%, was the fastest growing energy company in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and one of the 50 fastest growing companies worldwide. Austria's mid-sized IOG OMV Aktiengesellschaft not only made the overall 50 fastest growing list, it beat some Russian rivals to third place among EMEA's 10 fastest-growing companies.

Other standouts in Europe were two refining and marketing companies that were able to ride out the region's trend of poor margins and shutdowns. Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri (Tupras) of Turkey, ranked 85(th) in the overall Top 250, and Grupa LOTOS Spolka Akcyjna of Poland, ranked 170(th), were both placed among the fastest-growing energy companies regionally and globally.

Utilities among Biggest Movers, Fastest Growers

Some 32 electric, natural gas or multi-utilities made the top 100, but utilities failed to figure in the first 25 of the overall Platts Top 250. In recent years, these companies represented an increasingly volatile group of in the rankings. Of the best utility performers in 2013, the largest, Electricit de France (EDF), climbed year over year from 40(th) to 29(th) place. Diversified utility leader Centrica of the U.K. nipped at EDF's heals at 30(th), up from 77(th) a year ago. Iberdrola of Spain completed the top three at 31(st), up from 39(th).

The biggest year-over-year leap by any utility was made by E.ON. Aided by domestic nuclear policy and margins on wholesale gas, the German diversified utility jumped from 144(th) to 36(th) place.

Nine Asian utilities and independent power producers (IPPs) made the world's top 50 fastest growing list, while no European or U.S. utility or generator did. Of 15 Chinese companies among the 50 global fastest-growing companies, six were electric power, natural gas or IPP companies, further proof that industrial and urban expansion in China remains a potent driver of global commodity prices.

The lion's share of Japan's 15 energy companies within the global 250 was utilities.

Coal dominated Asia's power mix, reflected by the high placements of China Shenhua Energy Company, China Coal Energy Company and Coal India Limited (Ltd.).

For full details on the 2013 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings and the associated lists by region, industry sector, biggest movers, fastest growers and more, visit http://top250.platts.com/Rankings or the media kit.

For an in-depth analysis of this year's rankings, view Platts Insight's "U.S. Energy Boom Takes Center Stage," co-authored by Robert Perkins, Platts editor, EMEA oil news, and Henry Edwardes-Evans, Platts associate editorial director, Power in Europe.

Financial data for the Platts Top 250 Global Energy Companies Rankings is provided by S&P Capital IQ, which, like Platts, is a division of McGraw Hill Financial. To be ranked, companies must be publicly listed with assets greater than US$5 billion. The Rankings are based on assets, revenues, profits and return on investment (ROIC) for the prior fiscal year.

The Platts Top 250 Asia Awards Dinner, at which the Top 250 Rankings were unveiled, was held at The Fullerton in Singapore in partnership with Singapore International Energy Week. The dinner was attended by approximately 300 industry executives and featured keynote speaker Keisuke Sadamori, director for energy markets and security of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Event sponsors included PetroChina Company Limited, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, GDF Suez Trading and Open Link. Sponsors played no role in the selection of rankings or awards.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), a financial intelligence company, is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts