By Richard Krijgsman, CEO of Evaluate Energy

Analysis of country risk profiles for different major oil and gas companies reveals wide differences between companies with some - such as ENI and Total - concentrating their production in countries deemed much riskier by international rating agencies.

The analysis, undertaken by Evaluate Energy, calculated a consensus country risk weighted by oil and gas production by country for both 2000 and 2013. Country risk in each country was estimated by Evaluate Energy based on a consensus of country risk ratings published by Fitch, S&P, Moody's, Institutional Investor and the OECD. The Evaluate Energy methodology translates and standardizes each of the rating agency's particular ratings to numbers 1 through 7, where 1 is "less risky" and 7 is "very risky."