Financial stability ratios of the world's leading publicly traded oil and gas corporations as an indicator of the investment attractiveness of domestic vertically integrated oil and gas companies

Abstract

Subject. The article considers the main financial stability ratios of the twenty five leading publicly traded oil and gas companies within 2006 through 2018. Objectives. The study aims to determine the current level of values of the main indicators of financial stability of the leading publicly traded oil and gas companies, as well as identify the key trends in their changes within the studied period, and establish factors that caused those changes. Methods. For the study, I used the methods of comparative, financial and economic analyses, summarizing financial reporting data. Results. The article reveals certain deterioration of the key indicators of financial stability of the leading publicly traded oil and gas companies within the studied period. The article finds that the global financial crisis as a whole did not have a significant negative impact. A decrease in the book value of assets as a result of revaluation, as well as the implementation of mergers and acquisitions with the attraction of an impressive corporate-wide debt capital can have a serious negative impact on the financial stability of companies in the industry. The trend towards improvement of financial stability indicators was outlined in the stock market sector of the industry after the industry crisis. Conclusions and Relevance. The leading oil and gas companies are able to pay off their own debt obligations in times of crisis. The findings can help evaluate, forecast and develop measures to improve the financial stability of publicly traded oil and gas companies.