14/12/2019 Common Debt-To-Equity Ratios for Oil and Gas Companies

FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS SECTORS & INDUSTRIES ANALYSIS

Common Debt-To-Equity Ratios for Oil and

Gas Companies

BY BILLY CHEUNG | Updated Jun 25, 2019

Oil and gas operations are very capital-intensive, yet most oil and gas companies carry
relatively small amounts of debt, at least as a percentage of total financing. This can be seen
in debt-to-equity (D/E) ratios. Keep in mind that not all oil companies are involved in the
same operations. A company's position along the supply chain influences its D/E ratio.

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The Debt-to-Equity Ratio

A company's D/E ratio is calculated by dividing total owner's equity by total liabilities.
Publicly-traded companies have this information available in their financial statements.

The D/E ratio reflects the degree to which a company is leveraged. In other words, it shows
how much of the company's financing results from debt as opposed to equity. Generally
speaking, higher ratios are worse than lower ratios, though these higher ratios may be more
tolerable for large firms or certain industries.

Trends in the Oil and Gas Industry

Many oil companies shrank their D/E ratios during the mid-2000s on the back of ever-rising
oil prices. Higher profit margins allowed companies to pay off debt and rely less heavily on
debt for future financing.

Starting around 2008-2009, oil prices dropped dramatically. There were three main reasons:

1. Fracking allowed companies to reach new oil reserves in an economical way

2. Oil and gas shale production exploded, particularly in North America
3. A global recession put downward pressure on commodity prices

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Profit margins and cash flow fell for many oil and gas producers. Many turned to debt
financing as a stop-gap; the idea was to keep production flowing through low-interest debt
until prices rebounded.

As a result, this pushed up D/E ratios across the industry. Before the financial crisis of 2008,
common D/E ratios among oil and gas companies fell in the 0.2 to 0.6 range. As of 2018, the
range clusters within 0.5 and 0.9 with crude oil prices trading in a range between $50-70 per
barrel. 

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Debt-To-Equity Ratio – D/E Definition
The debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio indicates how much debt a company is using to finance its assets
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How the Leverage Ratio Works

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the form of debt, or that assesses the ability of a company to meet financial obligations. more

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Understanding the Sustainable Growth Rate – SGR

The sustainable growth rate (SGR) is the maximum rate of growth that a company can sustain without
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The debt ratio is a financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s leverage. more

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