84 BLOOMBERG MARKETS

A Function I Love

Davis is managing editor for energy and commodity news in the Americas.

In addition, you can check the

company’s remaining number of “reserve

life” years. If you think about production as

the equivalent of walking up a down

escalator (oil and gas companies are

continually seeking new sources to replace

what’s already pumped out of the ground),

this data point shows how many steps

above the bottom the company is. Mind

you, the number can change drastically—

the industry had to erase billions of barrels

of reserves from financial statements after

the price of oil collapsed in 2014, making

it uneconomic to produce. A low reserve

life generally indicates a company is under

pressure to buy or find new oil fields.

Colombia’s state-owned oil company

Ecopetrol SA is noteworthy for its very

short reserve life—it hasn’t risen above

eight years since 2009, but, crucially,

it hasn’t fallen below six.

Another useful figure on this page

is the production mix, which shows how

much of the company’s output is oil vs.

natural gas. Most major international oil

companies have been producing more

natural gas, betting that it’ll be a “bridge

fuel” to a transportation future that relies

less on gasoline and more on electricity.

Exxon Mobil Corp., for example, had a

production mix that was 61% oil in 2009.

That fell to as low as 47% in 2013 after the

company bought XTO Energy Inc. to bulk

up its shale gas holdings.

FA EN

Ener Production

By TINA DAVIS

IT’S LIKE READING the genetic code for
an energy company.
Market prices should reflect the
intersection of supply and demand. When
it comes to oil and natural gas producers,
a single page can provide all the data you
need on output. On your terminal, type
in any oil or natural gas company equity
ticker and run {FA EN } to see
a breakdown of key production figures.
Not only can you see the
company’s output over time—and easily
chart growth from the previous year—
you can also see how much it costs the
company to produce the energy.
Naturally, a struggling company will
spend more to generate less.