Global 500

BP rounds out the top three energy companies on our list. Despite lower demand and falling prices, it managed to post hefty profits. It's also moving forward with a handful of new projects including a site in Indonesia that is expected to generate about 7.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas for export per year.

BP’s 2010 outlook is much less certain following the worst oil spill in U.S. history. As of press time, oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico from one of its offshore rigs. BP has already spent billions of dollars to clean up the disaster, and has canceled shareholder dividends for the rest of 2010. The company has also established a $20 billion fund to compensate businesses impacted by the spill as civil and federal criminal investigations continue.

--N.T.