Oil & Gas Integrated
These massive corporations operate across the entire value chain, combining upstream extraction, midstream transport, and downstream refining into a single business entity.
Why it exists
Integrated companies combine upstream production with midstream logistics, refining, and marketing to control the full energy value chain.
Why it’s necessary
Integration dampens volatility, stabilizes cash flow across cycles, ensures supply security, and supports massive long-term capital programs.
Key components
Upstream oil & gas production
Transport and storage assets
Refineries and chemical plants
Retail fuel and wholesale distribution networks
How to evaluate businesses
Look at return on capital employed (ROCE), cash flow stability across oil-price cycles, reserve replacement, downstream margin capture, and balance sheet strength. Integrated firms are as much capital allocators as energy producers.
How the industry could be improved
Cleaner downstream operations, low-carbon fuel investments, hydrogen infrastructure, carbon capture at scale, and more transparent transition economics instead of narrative-driven decarbonization spending.