The past year has been truly historic for the Middle East oil and gas sector. Saudi Aramco listed shares on Tadawul for $25.6bn, ADNOC made a series of partnerships and is preparing for its second international bidding round, and the industry proved its resilience against multiple attacks on oil infrastructure. Despite volatility in the past year, megaprojects are back on the menu, with contracts worth billions doled out by the region’s major oil and gas companies.
But it would be naïve to ignore the impact of volatility on the market—production out of Libya, Iraq, and Iran have been deeply impacted by their respective crises. While missile strikes on Saudi Aramco’s infrastructure did not impact supply, thanks to the company’s quick reaction time, it added a risk premium to the oil price. The oil price has continued to fluctuate despite OPEC’s efforts to maintain stability with deeper production cuts, and US production is hitting all-time highs, with no signs of slowing down; the US Energy Information Administration forecasts US production at 13.3mn barrels per day in 2020. Climate change activism and sustainability concerns have swelled with renewed force, with speakers like 17-year-old Greta Thunberg rallying people across the globe.
As oil and gas executives juggle sustainability, optimising production, and their bottom line amid lower oil prices, the changes in the industry have never been clearer. These wider market shifts, as well as changing involvement from international oil companies, have resulted in a shuffle among our list members, although familiar names remain among the top ranks of our list, occupied by members of the industry’s upper echelons.
Click through our ranking for a snapshot of 2019, and to see the superheroes who continue to push the industry forward and demand more even as the energy landscape shifts around them—there is surely more in store for 2020.
In formulating this ranking, Oil & Gas Middle East’s editorial team scanned each list member’s major achievements, press releases, news announcements, and financial results. The list only takes into account information that is publically available.
