A national oil company (NOC) is an
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
and gas company fully or in the majority-owned by a national government. According to the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, NOCs accounted for 75% global oil production and controlled 90% of proven oil reserves in 2010.
Due to their increasing dominance over global reserves, the importance of NOCs relative to
International Oil Companies (IOCs), such as
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
,
BP, or
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
, has risen dramatically in recent decades. NOCs are also increasingly investing outside their national borders.
See also
*
List of petroleum companies
*
Nationalization of oil supplies
The nationalization of oil supplies refers to the process of confiscation of oil production operations and private property, generally for the purpose of obtaining more revenue from oil for oil-producing countries' governments. This process, which ...
External links
National Oil Companies and Value Creation(
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
study, 2010)
References
Petroleum economics
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