State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been ranked the world’s top oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) firm by global energy research agency Platts, the company said in a statement in New Delhi.

ONGC was last year placed at the third position in the pure E&P category, behind Encana of Canada and China’s Cnooc. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was ranked second on the list for 2010.

“In the pure E&P category, ONGC has achieved the distinction of Numero Uno ranking not only in Asia, but even on the global scale,” the statement said.

In the overall Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings that rated world’s leading oil and gas, power and coal firms, ONGC climbed to the 18th slot from 26th position in 2009 rankings.

“This is the highest ever ranking of ONGC in the list of Platts Top 250, ahead of global leaders like Cooco Phillips, Statoil, Cnooc, BG and others,” ONGC said.

With revenues of USD 22 billion, ONGC reported a profit of USD 4.24 billion in 2009-10, which forms the basis for the Platts rankings. It had assets worth USD 33.37 billion.