Here is a countdown, along with Rigzone staff write-ups on the industry plays which have sent these locals to the top of the global ranking for oil and gas cities. Included in the list are some you would probably expect, as well as others which may come as a surprise.

5) Jakarta

Indonesia is located where the Australian, Pacific and Southeast Asian tectonic plates meet. Most major petroleum discoveries in Indonesia have been associated with Tertiary-era sediments or, locally, with either basement or Tertiary volcanic phenomena.

A one-time OPEC member, Indonesia – the world’s fourth most-populous country with almost 240 million people – remains heavily dependent on petroleum. Its economy saw primary energy consumption increase by more than 50 percent during the last decade.

The country has 60 sedimentary basins. Thirty-six of these in the mature west have been well explored, with 14 currently producing oil and gas. In the under-explored east, 39 Tertiary and Pre-Tertiary basins show strong potential for hydrocarbons.

Jakarta is a well-placed base for the Indonesian oil industry and its workers since it is located on the northwest of Java – an island that is proximate to the key oil and gas producing regions of Sumatra, the Java Sea and East Kalimantan. Approximately three-quarters of the country’s exploration and production activity are in western Indonesia.

As well as the state-owned energy company PT Pertamina, a number of international oil and gas companies operate in the country. Majors with upstream activities in Indonesia include BP plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total S.A., while China National Offshore Oil Corp. and South Korea’s Korea National Oil Corp. are two national oil companies involved in the country’s upstream sector.

Indonesia is the eighth-largest gas producer in the world, with proven reserves of 108 trillion cubic feet in 2010. These gas reserves are approximately three times the size of the country’s oil reserves, according to PwC.

In January, Indonesia said that 74 contractors are expected to invest around $23.5 billion in production and exploration in the country during 2013. Approximately $14.7 billion will be earmarked for production activities, such as Total’s South Mahakam block in East Kalminatan and ConocoPhillips’ Sumpal field in South Sumatra, while $5 billion will be used in development projects. Nearly $2.3 billion is forecast to be spent on exploration.

More recently, in March, Indonesia awarded 14 new oil and gas exploration blocks to several companies, including Japan’s Inpex Corp. and UK independent Premier Oil.

Author: Jon Mainwaring

4) Singapore

Singapore began evolving in the 1960s from a third-world status nation with poor infrastructure and limited capital to a global manufacturing and business hub for a number of industries, including electronics, biotechnology and marine and offshore engineering. This transformation resulted from Singapore’s effort to create jobs and build a manufacturing base following the establishment of Singapore as a republic independent of Malaysia. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) was also established during this time to attract foreign investment to the island nation. Singapore has prospered under its free-market approach combined with economic planning.

The oil and gas industry has also played an integral role in Singapore’s economy since oil trading began in 1891. Singapore is one of the world’s top three export refining centers, according to the EDB. A number of drilling rig and offshore support vessel manufacturers, including Keppel Corporation and SembCorp Marine Ltd., call Singapore home.

In 2013, these companies are expected to continue reaping the benefits of higher oil prices, growing offshore exploration and production investments worldwide and demand for high-specification drilling rigs. Singapore’s marine and offshore sector is expected to benefit from investments by Asian companies in deepwater exploration, drilling and production. Last year, Douglas Westwood forecast that, from 2011 to 2016, Asian companies will invest $28.8 billion in these activities, more than double the $11.6 billion spent in the previous five-year period of 2007 to 2011.

Singapore is also home to a number of companies that provide marine-related services such as classification services, maritime and insurance services, as well as offshore support services. The EDB reports that Singapore is the largest manufacturer of jackups and commands 70 percent of the world market. Singapore also holds 70 percent of the global market for the conversion of floating production storage and offloading units and a 20-percent share of the world’s ship repair business.

Author: Karen Boman

3) Denver

While gold mining brought the first settlers to Denver, companies that are part of the air transportation, telecommunications, aerospace, and manufacturing industries are also found in Denver today. A number of oil and gas companies are also present in Denver, including Halliburton, Noble Energy Inc., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., EnCana Corp., EOG Resources Inc., and GE Oil & Gas.

Innovation in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology has allowed the oil and gas industry to begin exploring Colorado’s unconventional resources. These resources include shale and tight sands within three basins. Of these plays, the Niobrara currently is the most active, according to a report by the Institute for 21st Century Energy. Some analysts have estimated the Niobrara, which is mainly a liquids-rich play, to hold reserves of approximately 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, according to the Colorado Oil & Gas Association.

Unconventional oil and gas activity in Colorado created 77,600 jobs in the state in 2012, according to the second part of a report by the Institute for 21st Century Energy into the impact of unconventional resources on the U.S. economy. The number of jobs in Colorado supported by shale activity will grow to 121,398 in 2020 and 175,363 in 2035. Unconventional oil and gas activity contributed value-added economic activity of more than $11 billion in Colorado last year; that contribution is estimated to grow to more than $26 billion by 2035.

The nine-county Metro Denver and northern Colorado region ranked fourth for fossil fuel energy employment and seventh among the nation’s 50 largest metros for clean technology development concentration in 2012, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. The energy industry cluster employs more than 44,000 people in the area, and the state of Colorado ranked tenth in fossil fuel energy jobs. Energy research centers and universities such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Colorado School of Mines are also found in the Denver area.

The energy industry not only has impacted Denver’s economy in real life, but in prime time as well – the popular 1980s TV soap opera, “Dynasty” followed the lives of a wealthy oil family living in Denver.

Author: Karen Boman

2) Calgary

Accessible to some of Canada’s top oil and gas plays, Calgary is Canada’s energy capital and Alberta’s largest city. The city’s growth has paralleled the fortunes of Alberta’s oil and gas industry, which rose to prominence with the province’s first major oil discovery at Leduc in 1947.

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) reports the province’s conventional established oil reserves stand at approximately 1.5 billion barrels; the province produces nearly 500,000 barrels per day of conventional crude. Conventional oil production has tapered off in the mature Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, but Alberta’s oil sands will ensure that Alberta maintains a prominent role in the global energy industry. The province’s oil sands reserves hold nearly 170 billion barrels of bitumen recoverable with technology available as of 2011.

More than two-thirds of all natural gas produced in Canada originates in Alberta, with an estimated recoverable conventional natural gas reserves base of 73 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Reserves of the province’s coalbed methane may be a whopping 500 Tcf. Although the extent of Alberta’s unconventional shale gas resources in as many as 15 formations is still under review, a preliminary estimate reveals that five of these formations – Basal Banff/Exshaw, Duvernay, Muskwa, North Nordegg and Wilrich – could hold nearly 1,300 Tcf of gas in place.

According to Calgary Economic Development, nearly 56,000 Calgarians worked in the energy industry in 2010. That same year, roughly 1,700 business establishments comprised Calgary’s energy sector. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers expects more than 5 percent of global oil production to originate in Western Canada by 2025. Calgary’s best days as an oil and gas hub may yet be ahead.

Author: Matthew Veazey

1) Dubai

Although Dubai is located in the country that boasts some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas reserves, its bounty of hydrocarbon resources pales in comparison to those of neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, Dubai has been an offshore oil producer since the 1966 discovery of the Fateh field in the Persian Gulf. In addition to Fateh, other key offshore fields developed by national oil company Dubai Petroleum Establishment (DPE) have included South West Fateh, Falah and Rashid. In February 2010, DPE made another significant offshore discovery that is currently under development: the Al Jalila oil field.

Aside from DPE, E&P companies such as Dragon Oil, drilling contractors such as KCA Deutag Drilling Inc. and Odfjell and service companies such as Halliburton Co. and Wood Group are among oil and gas industry players maintaining a significant presence in Dubai. Wealth generated from the oil and gas industry has spurred aggressive economic diversification measures in Dubai. Having leveraged its business-friendly climate, cultural openness and accessibility to markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the city has become a major hub for finance, real estate and construction, retail, international trade and tourism.

Author: Matthew Veazey

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