10.31.2006 - 03:48pm ET

(CSRwire) New York - Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., the global leader in analyzing extra-financial sources of investment risk, has released its most recent report on the Global Integrated Oil & Gas Sector. Of the 28 companies in the report, top sustainability performers with AAA ratings included Royal Dutch Shell, Norsk Hydro ASA, BP Plc, and Suncor Energy. Laggards included the Russian company Surgutneftegaz, and Petrochina.

An excerpt from this report including a list of the 28 companies covered is available in pdf format by clicking here.

The cost for the sector report is $10,000. The sector report plus all 28 individual company Intangible Value Assessment (IVA) reports, plus access to the senior analysts is $15,000. Individual company IVA reports can be purchased for $195 each. Click here to purchase any of the above.

"The report provides an in-depth analysis of the sustainability risks and opportunities in the integrated oil and gas sector focusing on strategy development, implementation mechanisms and performance across a wide range of issues from environmental risks and accessing new reserves to transparency and human rights," said Dana Sasarean, Innovest Analyst on the project. "It also examines how companies are handling emissions and associated costs in an increasingly carbon-constrained world owing to tightening regulatory regimes."

"Casual observers will also be surprised to find BP as a top-rated company, given its highly-publicized recent disasters," continues Ms. Sasarean. "Innovest by no means takes these serious incidents lightly, but believes that investors need to look beyond the headlines. Like its investor clients, Innovest is more interested in what lies ahead than in past history - even if the latter is both recent and bad. Having interviewed senior management after both major episodes, we remain convinced that BP's forward-looking, strategic fundamentals are still in place, and indeed, that the tragedies have already served as catalytic 'wake-up calls' to the senior executive team. Substantive reforms are already underway, and promise to create both financial and 'sustainability' dividends over the next 18-24 months."

In addition, the report also covers core industry trends impacting company growth in the entire ESG arena as well as current/best practices and how they relate to company performance. A special section is devoted to industry-wide strategic profit opportunities focusing on operational efficiencies as well as on products and services with a lower environmental footprint.

As each company in the industry is analyzed, they receive a rating from Innovest relative to their peer group (AAA to CCC). While the industry as a whole has benefited from a rise in oil prices, the ratings point to possible red flags and areas of important concern related to the ongoing sustainability of these earnings.

About Innovest

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors is an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm specializing in analyzing companies' performance on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues, with a particular focus on their impact on competitiveness, profitability, and share price performance. By assessing differentials typically not identified by traditional securities analysis, Innovest's IVA ratings uncover hidden risks and value potential for investors.

Innovest was judged the #1 global provider of "extra-financial" research in the Thomson Extel 2006 survey of institutional investors.

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