AltEnToday

Some of you may have noticed to softer, gentler, renew-ier side of big oil. Just a quick look at a few TV ads and you’d think that petroleum companies are neck deep in the race for renewable energy investment opportunities. So just how much are these companies really investing in the future energy options for our country?

The Companies

The top Integrated Oil & Gas companies include (based on market capitalization):

• Exxon Mobil, Market Cap: $464.9 billion
• Royal Dutch Shell, Market Cap: $250.7 billion
• Petrochina Company, Market Cap: $236.6 billion
• BP PLC, Market Cap: $216.7 billion
• Chevron Corp, Market Cap $205.8 billion

To put it in another perspective, the annual revenues of each company on this short-list of leading companies runs something like this (values in billion $USD):

• (1) Shell: $396.6
• (2) Exxon: $389.3
• (3) BP: $310.8
• (5) Chevron: $222.3
• (8) PetroChina: $132.0

And to give you a sense of how much these companies are generating in profits, take a look at these figures (in $USD):

• Exxon - Net Profit Margin: 10.31%; Profits: $40.14 billion
• Shell - Net Profit Margin: 7.95%; Profits: $31.53 billion
• BP - Net Profit Margin: 8.49%; Profits: $26.39 billion
• Chevron - Net Profit Margin: 7.99%; Profits: $17.76 billion
• PetroChina - Net Profit Margin: 11.15%; Profits: $14.72 billion

So how much are each of these companies investing in alternative energies? The answers require a little digging, so come back tomorrow for my results, as well as a glance at the raw facts about oil industry investments in to alternative and renewable energy opportunities.

Continue Reading Part 2 >