OPEC Posts Record 06 Oil Revenue; Lags Western Cos by Half

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries posted nominal record revenue of nearly $650 billion last year on high crude prices and increased oil production, although its sales were just half those of the top U.S. and European energy firms, the producer group said in a report released Tuesday.

But in an indication as to why it may be keeping a tight rope on future production capacity, the report showed OPEC’s base of economically recoverable oil reserves last year was flat if new, higher estimates from troubled OPEC producer Venezuela are stripped out, the worst growth in this key metric in recent years.


The world’s top five publicly traded oil companies, led by ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) of the U.S., collectively raked in total revenue last year of $1.36 trillion, up 6% on the year, OPEC said in its annual statistical report released Tuesday.

The contrasting numbers underscore the financial muscle the top Western oil companies have relative to OPEC states even though those same states control nearly three-quarters of the world’s proven oil reserves.

Dow Jones Newswires