National oil companies — those predominantly owned by governments — produce approximately 55% of the world’s oil and gas, pumping out an estimated 85 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
In 2023, profits for the five of the largest national oil companies soared to more than
While they generate record emissions, national oil companies are investing the least in the energy transition and many disclose minimal information.
Profit per minute (latest available quarter)
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Aramco
ADNOC
KPC
Qatar Energy
Equinor
In 2022, the global oil and gas industry earned record income of more than $4 trillion, while they invested just 4% of capital expenditure on clean energy. National oil companies are investing even less on clean energy than the likes of Chevron and ExxonMobil.
The long-term effects of oil and gas emissions such as extreme heat are becoming increasingly present in the Arabian Gulf, where four of the five national oil companies featured are based. Neighbouring countries that can least afford to adapt to climate change are suffering the most.
If these five companies were a nation, they would be the world’s fourth largest emitter behind China, the US and India. National oil companies are not taking serious steps to reduce their emissions, and many of them have plans to significantly increase production, including Aramco, ADNOC and Qatar Energy.
Annual emissions of Big 5 National Oil Companies compared to countries 1
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Figures shown in million tonnes CO2e in 2022
National oil companies are notoriously lacking in transparency. With the exception of Aramco and Equinor, most disclose limited or no information at all. ADNOC, whose CEO Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber is the COP28 President, discloses virtually nothing.
The numbers don’t lie.
Sources and Footnotes
*We have only included the national oil companies of countries with the greatest capacity to pay: those with a GNI per capita greater than $US 20,000
2022 Domestic GHG emissions only (Source: EDGAR Community GHG Database)