In the oil industry, there is a gap between the goals of sustainable development, the implementation of oil projects and its specific consequences. Oil projects are implemented in isolation from other variables, have an insufficiently targeted impact on the territory and often have a negative impact on the environment. The purpose of the study is to improve the efficiency of oil producing companies and increase their contribution to the development of the country’s economy as a whole. The methodology used in this article is based on the concept of sustainable development, systemic and integrated approaches, methodology of sub-potentials and modeling of business processes of a circular economy. The results of the study include a methodological approach to the formation of an effective business model for oil companies. We propose this methodological approach to select the projects of oil companies, taking into account economic, environmental and other factors, and the most promising prospects for Mexico. The significance of the study is that the proposed methodology makes it possible to increase the sustainability of the development of oil companies and integrate their business processes into the task of increasing the efficiency of operation and development of the territory. The novelty of the study lies in the application of the concept of sub-potentials and the calculation of critical indicator values for oil producing companies in Mexico to prevent the transition of sub-potentials of functioning and development into sub-potentials of threat and containment during project implementation.