Steve Davis Quoted by Law360 on Ascent of State-Owned Oil Companies

Law360, for its article “National Oil Cos. Shake Up Global Deal-Making Scene,” quoted Akin Gump energy partner Steve Davis on that fact that, for the first time in a decade, state-owned oil companies outnumber investor-owned firms on Energy Intelligence’s recently released ranking of the top 10 global oil and gas concerns.

Davis noted that, considering Energy Intelligence’s list weighs several factors, such as the size of oil and gas reserves and production, these results are not surprising. He added, “What you’ve seen is many of the consumer national oil companies have gone outside of their boundaries and have begun acquiring oil and gas reserves in other parts of the world, and in that part of their business, they are competing directly with international oil companies, as well as competing with other consumer national oil companies.”

Davis added that, despite this increase in global clout by state-owned oil companies, investor-owned oil companies still have more experience in the industry than state-owned firms, saying, “The international oil companies have a long track record of developing large, complicated oil and gas projects and that is an area where many consumer national oil companies are still catching up. That skill set is a very valuable skill set and one the international oil companies justifiably play up.”