10 countries with the largest oil production in the world

Despite the popularization of the “green” economy, oil remains the most valuable resource on Earth. Those who have access to it are building artificial islands in the Persian Gulf, buying football clubs and hosting massive cultural events in their countries.

In the future, energy will change, the world will move towards renewable sources – it will be necessary to solve the issue of recycling thousands of oil rigs. But for now, they are “pulling” entire states and regions, bringing more than 90 million barrels a day.

Based on the report “Statistical Review of World Energy 2020” from the transnational oil and gas company British Petroleum, we have compiled a rating of which countries produce the most oil.

10. Brazil [2,877 млн баррелей в день]

The oil industry is one of the main areas of the Brazilian economy. The country collects 3% of all oil produced in the world daily.

In 2006, Petrobras (a Brazilian oil and gas company) announced the discovery of the largest field in the Western Hemisphere, which was named Lula (after the president). Also in the Santos oil and gas basin, another deposit was found – Jupiter. According to analysts, its reserves amount to 12.86 billion barrels.

According to many experts, Lula, which will reach its peak performance in 2020-2021, has the potential to completely cover the world’s oil needs.

9. Kuwait [2,996 млн баррелей в день]

The oil fields of Kuwait became the main prize for the country following the Gulf War (1990-1991). Today they make 3.1% of total oil production. The first wells were launched in 1938.

According to a rough estimate, Kuwait has reserves in the region of 101.5 billion barrels, and the introduction of technology will increase this figure. At the current pace, the country can “pump” oil for another 100 years, guaranteeing its well-being.

8. Iran [3,535 млн баррелей в день]

Iran extracts 3.7% of oil from the daily level of global production. Most of it is pure, that is, it does not require complex technologies for extraction. In addition, Iran is a member of OPEC, which gives it some power in price control. Iranian reserves are 155 billion barrels. This is enough for 120 years of active production.

7. China [3,836 млн баррелей в день]

China is steadily picking up the pace. For the past 50 years, it has been extracting 4% of the world’s total oil production daily. However, this is not enough for strong economic development and providing for a gigantic population. Like the US, China consumes more than it produces, and China’s reserves are modest at 26.2 billion barrels. But with the introduction of hydraulic fracturing and other technologies the country wants to use, the reserves should increase in the future.

6. UAE [3,998 млн баррелей в день]

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven territories (emirates). The most famous of them are Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They are located in the southern part of the Persian Gulf, a very rich oil region. The share of the UAE in the daily world production is about 4.2%. Reserves – 98 billion barrels.

But 92 billion is in Abu Dhabi, which could cause inter-world political problems. True, earlier Abu Dhabi was generous with its neighboring cities and literally saved Dubai from financial problems in 2009. With current prices and production of up to 4 million barrels per day, the UAE will be in an excellent position for many years to come.

5. Iraq [4,779 млн баррелей в день]

By the end of the 2010s, this country confidently became one of the leaders in production and took the role of a key member of OPEC. Growth is helped by tensions in US-Iranian relations – US sanctions against Iran free up new market niches for Iraq.

According to British Petroleum, Iraq’s proven oil reserves in 2019 are 145 billion barrels. This is the fifth indicator in the world after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Iran.

With 4.78 million barrels per day, the country produces 5% of the world’s production. And in 2018, the Iraqi Energy Ministry said it wanted to increase production to 7.5 million barrels by 2024.

4. Canada [5,651 млн баррелей в день]

The country of elk and maple leaves is ranked sixth in the ranking of the most active oil producers. With a population of 37 million people (4 times less than in Russia), Canada accounts for 5.9% of the daily production of “black gold” in the world.

The situation is good in the long run. Most of the current reserves are located in tar sands (a combustible mineral is one of the types of unconventional oil). As technology improves, Canada will benefit from these reserves, not to mention what could be discovered as sea ice shrinks in the Arctic. Now the country has 170 billion barrels in reserve – it is in third place in the world in this indicator.

3. Russia [11,540 млн баррелей в день]

If you ask a Russian about which countries produce the most oil, he will definitely mention the state in which he lives. Russia accounts for 12.1% of the world’s daily oil production – this is not surprising, given that the country occupies 1/9 of the land on Earth.

But due to geographical difficulties, the Russian Federation has not yet been able to use all the reserves that are concentrated in the Far East, Eastern Siberia and the Arctic territories. According to general estimates, Russian oil reserves exceed 107 billion barrels, including Arctic sources.

2. Saudi Arabia [11,832 млн баррелей в день]

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia receives 12.4% of the planet’s daily oil production. Based on the fact that the country “sits” on the oil throne with a reserve of 297 billion barrels, its position for the coming decades is beyond doubt.

True, the United States took the crown of the world championship of the energy industry in 2019. America has picked up a serious pace in the production of biofuels and natural gas, but this does not help it overtake Saudi Arabia in terms of proven reserves.

1. USA [17,045 млн баррелей в день]

The United States leads the world in terms of daily production, accounting for about 17.9% of the world. A stable investment climate and a high degree of technological development allow the country to introduce unconventional sources such as tar sands and shale.

Now US reserves are estimated at 68.9 billion barrels, but consumption is higher than production. Therefore, the country imports a lot of raw materials from Mexico and Canada.

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