Petrobras is world's most sustainable oil/gas company

RP news wires, Noria Corporation
Petrobras is the world's most sustainable oil/gas company according to the fifth annual oil/gas ranking by the sustainability research and rating firm Management & Excellence (M&E, Madrid & Sao Paulo).

The M&E ranking, marketed with Oil&Gas Journal Online, measures oil/gas companies' compliance with 387 accepted international standards in sustainability, corporate governance, social responsibility, ethics and transparency. The guidelines are taken from institutions such as SEC, Sarbanes-Oxley, national laws, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, OECD, industry benchmarks, GRI, ILO, ISO, EITI, reserves accounting, Global Compact, Millennium Goals and others. The annual study is considered the most detailed benchmark on sustainability in the industry.

Petrobras, once known for sinking oil rigs and strikes, was re-elected to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, an indicator where StatoilHydro holds the industry record of 79 points. Petrobras' board consists of all independent directors, except the CEO. The Brazilian company's "Zero Hunger Program" entered into 18,000 partnerships helping nearly 11 million people over the past four years. BP rebounded following the 2005 explosion in its Texas City complex, oil spills in Alaska and the resignation of its former CEO Lord Browne, investing $1.7 billion in its U.S. operations for "integrity and reliability."

Companies with the poorest governance and sustainability practices generally controlled the largest oil/gas reserves. The three state corporations PDVSA, Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi NOC in part scored zero in governance but together control 430 billion barrels of oil, compared with ConocoPhilips' 9.4 billion or ExxonMobil's 22.7 billion.

  Most Sustainable Oil Companies 2008 (compliance scores)
  1.  Petrobras         92.25%
  2.  Total             91.21%
  3.  BP; StatoilHydro  89.15%
  4.
  5.  Shell             87.86%
  6.  ENI               78.55%
  7.  Repsol            74.68%
  8.  OMV               73.39%
  9.  Chevron           72.87%
  10. ConocoPhilips     72.35%
  11. ExxonMobil        67.96%
  12. Pemex             66.93%
  13. Marathon          66.67%
  14. Lukoil            55.81%
  15. ENAP              40.31%
  16. Gazprom           40.05%
  17. Petrochina        37.47%
  18. ADNOC             31.78%
  19. Saudi Aramco      29.72%
  20. PDVSA             12.92%


A second M&E study ranks 5 major players in the oil/gas service business which are following in the footsteps of their bigger clients. Yet only Schlumberger and Halliburton achieve above-average compliance levels, with Schlumberger the only member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

  Most Sustainable Oil/Gas SERVICE Companies 2008

  1.  Schlumberger     72.68%
  2.  Halliburton      65.92%
  3.  Baker Hughes     47.04%
  4.  Cameron          34.93%
  5.  Weatherford      30.14%

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