Among the 10 most profitable companies in the world based on 2008 data, energy companies occupy the top six spots. Two of the companies in that list (GazProm and PetroChina) are from emerging markets with the rest being the usual Western energy giants. The emergence of two companies from Russia and China in the top 10 list shows the growing power of the emerging market oil companies in the global energy industry.

The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Oil & Gas Titans 30 Index aims to “represent 30 of the largest emerging-market companies in the Oil & Gas Industry as defined by the Industry Classification Benchmark(ICB). Stocks are selected to the index based on rankings by float-adjusted market capitalization, revenue and net profit”. As emerging markets have soared this year, so has this index. The total return for this index as of November 30th, 2009 is 76.88%.

The Top 10 Components of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Oil & Gas Titans 30 Index are listed below:

Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR)
Brazil

Surgutneftegaz JSC ADS (OTC:SGTZY)
Russia

Reliance Industries Ltd.
India

Gazprom OAO ADS (OTC: OGZPY)
Russia

PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR)
China

Lukoil Holdings ADS (OTC: LUKOY)
Russia

Sasol Ltd. (SSL)
South Africa

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP)
China

Rosneft GDR (OTC: RNGZY)
Russia

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd.
India

Some of the oil and gas companies listed above are state-owned companies and are growing both domestically and internationally by acquisitions.