World's Best IR Websites™ in the Energy Sector

Out of the 38 large-cap companies evaluated over the past six months, six companies achieved a score worthy of the World's Best IR Websites™ designation. In order of their ranking, they are:

1. Nexen Inc.
2. Royal Dutch Shell
3. Repsol YPF
4. Petro-Canada
5. Statoil
6. BP plc

Companies recognized as having World's Best IR Websites™ have achieved a high ranking after a detailed evaluation in IR Web Report's survey of online investor relations communication practices. Achieving the standard is a strong indicator of a company's commitment to effective online communication with investors.

World's Best IR Websites™ companies provide broad and deep financial, corporate governance, shareholder services and securities trading information on their investor relations websites. Their sites are designed around the needs of investors, uphold good privacy practices and are actively managed and up to date.

How we choose the sites
IR Web Report inspects more than 500 investor relations websites every six months. Companies in the survey are mostly international large-cap companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Each company's investor relations website is inspected against 133 criteria. The criteria cover financial and corporate governance information, shareholder services, securities trading, news and events, and the ease of use of the site.

From the 133 criteria, we calculate a total score for each company that measures the overall effectiveness and credibility of the site and its information. The formula has four inputs:

• Completeness of the site's content in terms of depth, breadth and timeliness.
  
• Transparency of the site in terms of how information is presented.
  
• Service attitude of the site in terms of resources and services offered to shareholders.
  
• Ease of use of the site including navigation, information design and technical formatting.

We are confident that the companies chosen through this process are serious about communicating effectively with shareholders and investors in a democratic fashion on the Web.

Why World's Best IR Websites™?
By recognizing companies with the best IR websites, IR Web Report aims to encourage more companies to use the Web effectively. This can benefit all investors because the Internet has the ability to democratize access to corporate information to give all investors an equal chance to make informed decisions.

Complete list of the companies we cover