The world’s most sustainable oil service companies list was released by the consulting firm Management and Excellence (M&E) together in partnership with Oil and Gas Journal Research Center. This is an annual study and this year’s list will published later this year.Based in Madrid, Spain M&E analyzes companies and ranks them “in the areas of ethics, sustainability, corporate governance, transparency and corporate social responsibility” with a special on Latin America and Spain.
Though the following are rankings for 2008, these companies are some of the best in the industry and it is highly likely that some of them will be in the top for 2009 as well. The first three companies listed below were in the top five rankings in 2007 also. These top firms were selected based on the “M&E Facts Only method, measuring companies’ compliance with recognized standards in sustainability, corporate governance, social responsibility and ethics customized to the oil industry.”
Oil service companies provide advanced products and services to help their clients in the oil industry drill, evaluate, produce and maintain oil and natural gas wells. They also provide other valuable services such as consulting, engineering, etc. to the oil majors. Hence their performance is closely tied to the ups and downs of the oil industry.
The World’s Most Sustainable and Ethical Oil Service Companies for 2008 are (by ranking order):
1. Schlumberger Ltd(SLB) is a Houston,Texas based oil service provider with 100,000 employees. SLB is down 48% in the past 52 weeks and the stock has an yield of 2.02%. Due to the rise in demand for crude oil, over the last 5 years revenues increased at an annual rate of 22%.
2.Halliburton Company(HAL) currently pays a dividend of 2.14%. Compared to Schlumberger, the annual revenue growth has been a little lighter at 19.7%.On March 10th, the company announced an issue of $2 Billion in Senior Notes. After reaching a high of $55 in 2008, HAL closed at $18.06 today.
3.Holding the number three spot in the list is Houston,TX based Baker Hughes Inc.(BHI). With a market cap of $10.6B the stock has an yield of 1.93%. The company is better at converting its revenues to profits on a net and operating basis compared to its peers. As of this week, Baker Hughes has 1,346 rigs in operation in North America.
4.Cameron International Corp(CAM) is a smaller oil service provider with a revenue of $5.8B last year. CAM does not pay a regular dividend and the current market cap is $5.4B. Last month, the company warned of a weakness in its 2009 profit numbers.
5.The Switzerland-based Weatherford International Ltd (WFT) ranked number five in M&E’s list. Weatherford “operates in approximately 100 countries, which are located in nearly all of the oil and natural gas producing regions in the world.” Total revenues was $9.6B last year. WFT pays no regular dividends.
