MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras ranked sixth among leading oil corporations

Brazil's government oil managed corporation Petrobras finished 2007 in sixth place of PFC Energy 50's ranking, which lists the world's largest oil companies based on their market values.

The survey was published by the Financial Times which highlighted Petrobras and Petrochina as the companies that most surged in the 2007 ranking. Petrobras that was eleventh now appears ahead of long standing global corporations such as BP and Total. "Petrobras, the Brazilian company with two major discoveries to its name in the past few months, rose from 11th to sixth, with a 93% increase in its share price, surpassing Total, which fell to eighth place in the ranking, with a mere 4% increase in its stock price," said the Financial Times. According to PFC Energy, the ranking reflects the growth of oil companies that are connected to governments, such as Petrobras and Petrochina, since, by and large, they have more access to the world's oil reserves. PFC Energy is an energy consultancy that has performed with companies and governments the world over for more than 20 years. Annually it publishes its ranking of the top 50 energy companies with shares traded in stock exchanges and its main criterion is their performance in the capital markets.