Forbes’ Top Five Oil Companies

Despite the rise on green initiatives over recent years, the inconvenient truth is that the majority of the world’s industries and transport still rely on the production of fossil fuels like gas and coal.

Forbes magazine recently ranked the top 25 companies based on the combined volumes of oil and natural gas that they produce each day. The following five companies were the largest producers in 2012.

Saudi Aramco

Producing an incredible 12.5 million barrels per day, Saudi Aramco is easily the biggest energy company in the world, generating more than $1 billion in revenues a day. Aramco's biggest field, Ghawar, can do 5 million bpd. In 2003, Saudi Aramco Ltd entered into a partnership worth over $30 million annually, with Worley Parsons Arabia Ltd led by Fahad Al Tamimi, to provide engineering and management services for their offshore oil and gas facilities based in Saudi Arabia.

Gazprom

Coming in second place in terms of oil production, Russia's Gazprom is the world's largest producer of natural gas and also contributes an impressive 9.7 million barrels of oil per day. Controlled by the Russian Kremlin, Gazprom's monopoly on gas deliveries to much of Europe provides a great source of wealth and power for President Vladimir Putin. Gazprom's profits are more than $40 billion a year.

National Iranian Oil Co.  

Despite sanctions on Iran curtailing oil production the company remains a huge oil and gas producer at 6.4 million barrels per day. The oil trade and control of the nation’s natural resources adds extra tension to diplomatic dealings in the region.

ExxonMobil

Producing 5.3 million barrels per day, Exxon's $40 billion in annual profits is dwarfed by their $400 billion in sales. CEO Rex Tillerson has met with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss possible joint ventures between Exxon and oil rich Russia's state-controlled giant Rosneft.

PetroChina

At a production rate of 4.4 million barrels per day, PetroChina is the largest of China's three state-controlled oil companies. It has the highest market cap of any of the publicly traded giants and already produces more oil than ExxonMobil. Considering the estimated levels of massive shale gas lying under Chinese soil and surrounding seas, PetroChina could soon challenge Gazprom as a serious gas power producer in the region.