Brand Finance’s Energy 100 2026 reveals the world’s most valuable and strongest oil & gas and utilities brands amid shifting energy demand and investment priorities
KUALA LUMPUR, 5 November 2026 - Malaysia’s energy sector continues to demonstrate strong global brand strength, with PETRONAS and Tenaga Nasional ranking among the world’s strongest energy brands, according to the Energy 100 2026 report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
PETRONASclimbed one rank to become the second strongest oil & gas brand, with a BSI score of 83.5/100 and an AAA- brand strength rating. Brand Finance’s market research shows that PETRONAS, with brand value down 4% to USD13.8 billion, has strengthened perceptions of its reputation, reliability and customer engagement in Malaysia.
PETRONAS continues to reinforce its reputation through its social impact and energy transition initiatives, having invested more than RM500 million in social impact programmes in 2025, reaching over 2.5 million lives. Its hosting of Energy Asia 2025 and delivery of Malaysia’s first locally blended sustainable aviation fuel further support perceptions of innovation and national leadership.
Meanwhile, its Setel and Mesra Rewards ecosystem continues to strengthen everyday customer engagement through integrated fuelling, payments and rewards.
Tenaga Nasional also delivered a strong performance in the global rankings, ranking as the third strongest utilities brand in the world with a BSI score of 91.5/100 and an AAA+ rating.
The Malaysian utility provider's BSI score increased significantly from 88.9/100 in 2025, reflecting stronger stakeholder perceptions and the continued strength of its brand in its home market. 91% of respondents in Malaysia reported familiarity with Tenaga Nasional, highlighting the exceptional visibility created by its role as the country's primary electricity provider.
Its constant presence in Malaysians' daily lives, through billing, outage updates and digital service touchpoints, continues to reinforce strong brand recognition. The credibility associated with its government-linked status and role in providing essential national infrastructure further supports perceptions of the brand.
The results come as the global energy sector enters a new phase of transformation, with the collective value of the world's top 100 energy brands rising 6% to USD731.2 billion in 2026, from USD688.6 billion in 2025. Brand Finance identifies growing electricity demand, infrastructure investment, renewable energy and artificial intelligence (AI) as increasingly important forces reshaping the sector.
Brand Finance's analysis shows that the centre of energy investment is increasingly shifting towards Asia Pacific, the Middle East and selected emerging markets, where governments and national energy champions are deploying significant capital into renewable energy, grid modernisation, AI infrastructure and low-carbon technologies.
Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance, commented:
"The strong performance of PETRONAS and Tenaga Nasional demonstrates the continued strength of Malaysian energy brands on the global stage. The improvement in brand strength reflects the importance of reputation, reliability, familiarity and meaningful engagement with stakeholders. As Malaysia's energy landscape evolves, maintaining trust while demonstrating innovation and a credible transition strategy will be increasingly important for both brands.”
Global energy brands performance
Shell (brand value up 14% to USD51.8 billion) retains its position as the world's most valuable oil & gas brand for the 12th consecutive year, recovering strongly from a 10% decline in 2025. Shell's continued focus on LNG and gas has positioned the brand well as global energy demand continues to grow, particularly in Asia. The brand also remains the strongest oil & gas brand ranked, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 83.9/100 and an AAA- brand strength rating.
In the utilities ranking, State Grid Corporation of China (brand value up 20% to USD102.4 billion) remains as the most valuable utilities brand for 10 consecutive year ranked by a wide margin. Its growth reflects the scale of China's electricity infrastructure and the company's continued focus on strengthening transmission and distribution networks as electricity demand rises alongside industrial activity, electrification and renewable energy deployment.
The Chinese brand also continues to be the strongest utilities brand in the rankings, with a BSI score of 92.9/100 and an AAA+ brand strength rating. Brand Finance's market research data shows that State Grid continues to benefit from strong familiarity, reliability and reputation in its domestic market
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
