The Top 10 Ideal NOC Employers

A national company (NOC) is somehow tied to the government of its host country. In some cases, the government fully owns a NOC. In other cases, when private-sector shareholders own a portion of the entities, NOCs bear some resemblance to their multinational or international oil company (IOC) peers.

Although NOCs pursue the profit motive, their link to government obliges them to fulfill other goals as well. In fact, some NOCs exist as an extension of government to provide jobs, fund social programs and subsidize citizens’ energy costs. Other NOCs, though perhaps not a formal arm of government, nevertheless seek to create value for shareholders while supporting other, national objectives promoted by political elites.

NOCs command a significant role within the global oil and gas industry. Which ones enjoy the highest regard among oil and gas professionals? Rigzone sought to answer that question through its 2019 Ideal Employer Survey, which collected insights about NOCs and other oil and gas employers from 11,054 individuals representing 1,800 different companies in 100 countries. The survey, conducted with the Sawtooth Software online survey tool, ran from November 2018 to March 2019.

Below is a breakdown of the survey’s 10 highest-scoring NOCs. All figures reflect the most recent information that Rigzone obtained from publicly available sources such as company websites and annual reports.

10. China National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC)

China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, CNOOC also operates in more than 40 countries and regions. CEO Yang Hua serves as CEO of the Beijing-based NOC, which is operated by the People’s Republic of China’s Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. In addition to oil and gas exploration and development, other CNOOC business units include refining and marketing, engineering and technical services, natural gas and power generation and financial services.

9. Ecopetrol

Bogota-based Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (Ecopetrol S.A.) is Colombia’s NOC. More than 88-percent owned by the Colombian government, Ecopetrol also counts pension funds and other investors as shareholders. CEO Felipe Bayón Pardo leads the approximately 8,700-strong company, which was established in 1951. Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and the fourth-largest oil company in Latin America.

In 2018, Ecopetrol boasted proven hydrocarbon reserves of 1.73 billion barrels-equivalent and average production of 720,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day. During the same period, the company processed 372,900 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil at its refineries in Cartagena and Barrancabermeja. Outside of Colombia, the company operates in Brazil, Peru and the United States. Recently, Ecopetrol unveiled plans to move into the U.S. onshore via a joint venture with Occidental Petroleum Corp. to develop Oxy-owned properties in the Permian Basin.                            

8. Gazprom

Created in 1993 by Russian presidential decree, Joint Stock Company Gazprom boasts the world’s largest reserves of natural gas – 16 percent globally and 71 percent in Russia. Moreover, the Moscow-based company claims that it accounts for 12 percent and 69 percent of worldwide and Russian gas production, respectively. At the end of 2018, the Russian government and government-controlled companies owned 50.23 percent of Gazprom. American Depository Receipt (ADR) holders and other legal entities and individuals comprised the remaining shareholders.

The chief executive of Gazprom is Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee.

7. Kuwait Oil Co.

One of two Kuwait Petroleum Corp. subsidiaries to make Rigzone’s list of top NOCs, Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) traces its origins to 1934 and focuses on exploration, drilling and production of oil and natural gas within Kuwait. Moreover, state-owned KOC’s activities include storing crude oil and delivering it to tanker vessels for export.

Led by CEO Emad Sultan, KOC boasted production capabilities of 4.25 million bpd of crude oil and 2 billion standard cubic feet per day and non-associated gas in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. In addition, the Al-Ahmadi, Kuwait-headquartered company drilled a total of 672 new wells during the period.

6. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the primary exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. Led by Managing Director Raoul Restucci, the Muscat-based NOC is 60-percent owned by Oman’s government. Other PDO owners include Shell (34 percent), Total (4 percent) and Partex (2 percent). More than 8,500 employees representing 60-plus nationalities work for the firm.

PDO in 2018 reported production of 610,000 bpd of crude oil, 65,300 bpd of condensate and 64.8 million cubic meters per day of natural gas. During the same period, PDO supported a variety of social investment projects including helping students to become teachers, delivering water to local communities and even building a fish market.

5. Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC)

The domestic downstream unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), KNPC is headquartered in Al-Ahmadi south of Kuwait City. The 59-year-old company reports that, as of March 2018, its employee headcount approached 6,200 – nearly 90 percent of whom were Kuwaitis.

Waleed Khaled Al-Bader serves as the chief executive of KNPC, which owns and operates three refineries that boast 936,000 bpd of processing capacity. The NOC also states that most of its refined products are exported to international markets. Besides refining, KNPC also operates a four-train natural gas liquefaction as well as a domestic network of service stations.

4. Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)

Established in 1974 and present in more than 50 countries, Malaysia’s integrated oil and gas company Petronas reported daily average production of nearly 2.4 million boe for 2018. Currently able to process more than 500,000 bpd of crude oil at refineries in Malaysia and South Africa, Petronas aims to add 300,000 bpd of new capacity via its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project on Johor Island. The company also is a major player in Asia’s LNG sector.

Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin serves as the CEO of Petronas, whose workforce totaled approximately 48,000 last year.

3. Qatar Petroleum

Another 45-year-old NOC, Qatar Petroleum (QP) projects a growing influence on the global oil and gas industry from its tiny Arabian Peninsula home. Doha-based QP produces oil and gas from onshore and offshore acreage, most notably its North Field in the Persian Gulf. Much of the North Field production is exported as LNG through QP’s Qatargas subsidiary. Earlier this summer, QP elevated its international profile by signing an $8-billion deal with Chevron Phillips to build a world-scale petrochemicals complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, also holds the dual role of QP’s president and CEO.

2. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC)

Since its formation in 1971, ADNOC has grown into an organization comprising 18 different companies and subsidiaries. In the upstream, the Abu Dhabi-based NOC produces approximately 3 million bpd of crude oil and nearly 10 billion cubic feet per day of raw gas. In an effort to dramatically increase those volumes, ADNOC beginning in 2018 has held multiple onshore and offshore bid rounds to entice international E&P firms to expand the emirate’s resource base. Downstream, ADNOC operates the largest refinery in the UAE – and the Middle East – at Ruwais. The firm is expanding its downstream prowess, which currently includes 922,000 bpd of refining capacity, as it creates the world’s largest integrated refining and chemicals site at Ruwais.

ADNOC’s CEO is Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.

1. Saudi Aramco

For the third straight year, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. – better known as Saudi Aramco – tops the list of NOCs in Rigzone’s Ideal Employer Survey. Wholly owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the 86-year-old company produced 13.6 million boe per day in 2018 and reports proved reserves of 336.2 billion boe.

Downstream, Saudi Aramco owns and operates three KSA refineries, with a fourth one under construction. Also, it partners with international firms in five domestic refineries. In addition, it maintains a downstream presence at facilities in Asia, North America and Europe. In 2017, Saudi Aramco reported a total of 3.1 million bpd of refining capacity at KSA and international facilities.

In an effort to raise capital for new growth projects, Saudi Aramco is engaged in a process to launch an initial public offering to sell a minority stake in the state-owned enterprise to private investors. Leading the 70,000-plus-employee NOC is CEO Amin H. Nasser.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.