Most crude oil producing country
Oil generates revenue for countries with enough oil reserves to produce more than their domestic consumption. And for those economies that are heavily dependent on imports, oil expenditures must be factored into national budgets. Not surprisingly, events like unrest in oil-producing regions, new oil field discoveries, and advances in extraction technology profoundly affect the oil industry. As a result, oil markets have become extremely volatile, and global production has changed significantly. Rankings and data in this article were accurate at the time of writing, but likely have changed as a result of the aforementioned events.
U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis
The 19th century was a period of great and rapid change that left an indelible mark on the US and the world. The iron and steel industries spawned new construction materials. Railroads connected cities and towns across the country. All that was left was to wait for the arrival of a new source of fuel. The discovery of Spindletop Geyser in was that defining moment. This new fuel source drove huge growth in the oil industry and allowed the US to become one of the top oil producing countries in the world.
Very soon, oil became the dominant fuel of the 20th century and an integral part of the American economy. Before the Industrial Revolution, agricultural staples like corn and wheat ruled the commodity market.
These days, world oil and its derivatives are the most actively traded commodities on the planet. Oil prices are growing as supply fails to keep pace with rising demand, a trend that could affect both economies and climates across the world.
Crude petroleum can be refined to produce many of the products we use every day, including gasoline, diesel, and a multitude of petrochemicals. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that less than half of a gallon barrel of oil actually goes towards fuel production. The rest of it is used in the production of consumer goods like plastic, synthetic textiles, computers, cosmetics, and even steel. In other words — specific grades of oil are identical for oil trading purposes, no matter which of the world oil reserves it comes from.
For instance, 1, barrels of WTI crude oil is considered exactly the same product whether it was extracted in Texas or Pennsylvania. Oil supply and demand play a major role in pricing. Nowadays, the global mobility of resources levels some of the natural price pressures that occur when oil is in short supply. The emergence of new resources — like the Canadian oil sands and US shale oil — may also help with this. Well, shale oil fracking is the process of obtaining shale oil, which is high-quality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock.
Oil producers extract shale oil by fracturing those layers of rock. Afterwards, they pump high-pressure bursts of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to hit targeted spots.
There have been many concerns when it comes to the shale oil fracking process , since it includes drilling down as far as two miles where those layers exist. One of these concerns is the fact that fracking uses a lot of natural resources.
Before the first drop of oil is extracted, frackers must pump over truckloads of water into the hole. There are hundreds of truckloads of other materials involved in the process, too. This means that even the top oil producing countries in the world have no idea what effect these chemicals could have on the water table.
Most of the water that gets pumped in returns to the surface. However, that water is now contaminated by unknown underground chemicals, which in some cases includes trace amounts of radioactive materials. Many scientists around the world are studying the long-term impact this water has on the environment, but activists are rightfully concerned.
Up until the middle of the 20th century, the United States was on the list of top ten oil producing countries and, thus, controlled a large share of the oil market. These countries agreed that they needed to create an organization that could bring some degree of stability to the world oil market. OPEC agreed to coordinate energy policies and ensure a fair price and steady supply to the countries of the world.
The establishment of OPEC occurred at a time of great transition in the international economic and political landscape. As soon as OPEC took over the oil market, a battle broke out over export limits. Each country wanted to export as much as possible, flooding the market with cheap oil which completely decreased the price of oil.
Although the consequences of this event were felt in the following years, the organization continued to work without too many major obstacles. In , OPEC released the Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy in Member Countries , which was created to enshrine the right of every country to have complete sovereignty over their natural resources. Many OPEC countries were former colonies that had trouble pushing back against the dominance of powerful petroleum companies based in wealthier countries.
OPEC believed the top oil producing countries should have control over their own oil. The US intervened on the side of Israel. Unfortunately, aside from the violence, this also had terrible consequences on the global economy. In spite of the embargo, these countries were able to get oil from other sources. However, the tightening of supply resulted in a sharp rise in price, which in turn affected global energy consumption.
This embargo highlighted a global shift in political and economic power. It was clear that they actually had the power to influence rich countries by manipulating oil supplies. This decade began with concerns that crude petroleum would become scarce very soon, and these predictions drove the search for alternative energy sources. OPEC countries tried to mitigate rising prices by introducing other fuel sources such as coal, nuclear power, and natural gas.
Many studies were undertaken to encourage the switch from oil to the use of nuclear power in the top countries for producing oil. The Iranian Revolution in and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war resulted in a limited supply of oil coming from Iran. Moreover, many 2nd world countries began to burn coal as a way of avoiding now-expensive oil.
In response, the top producing countries in OPEC started to lose control of the monopoly they had created. OPEC was now forced to raise prices and place a cap on output. This was done in the hope that limiting the supply would cause the price to rise. However, some OPEC countries were strongly against this limit. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran produced more than their daily allowance in an attempt to capitalize on the void left by lower production in other countries.
Even though the oil price OPEC determined did rise, the market was set for another crash. In , oversupply caused the price of oil to drop. The rally of oil prices helped revive revenues, but the prices did not recover to those pre highs. After the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the top oil producing countries in the world including OPEC — experienced another brief period of stability and growth. This was mainly because Iraq was struggling to rebuild and wanted to export more oil with the goal of increasing its revenues.
During this decade, both Ecuador and Gabon left OPEC, seeking a release from the terms of the organization so they could increase their oil production. Both have since rejoined. They invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition resulted in another drop in supply, but other OPEC country members were able to fill in that gap, Saudi Arabia in particular.
Other conflicts in Libya present , attacks on Nigerian infrastructure, and the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Syria have been causing periodic disruptions in supply in recent decades. Today, OPEC includes the following list of top oil producing countries:. Oil production is measured in barrels per day BPD. This is quite literally a head count of how many barrels a country fills with oil on a daily basis.
So, what are the top oil producing countries? The following segment will go into detail about the amount of oil these countries are responsible for producing, as well as exploring other details relevant to global oil production. Every day, the United States produces an average of 15,, barrels. The US will continue to enable world oil consumption with demand expected to increase over the next five years.
In , the US overtook Russia for second place, then surpassed former leader Saudi Arabia in to become the largest producer of oil. Much of this can be attributed to shale fracking in Texas and North Dakota.
In addition to producing, exporting, and distributing more oil than you could wrap your mind around, the United States has so far purchased and imported 7. He has also instigated sanctions against Russia and Iran, while also pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is the de facto leader of OPEC and one of the top 5 oil producing countries , is currently assessing whether it will need to ask other OPEC members to temporarily raise production to calm markets until its own output can recover.
Over the past couple of years, Saudi Arabia has fallen slightly in oil production by country rankings. However, taking into account its energy production including natural gas and biofuels, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still sits very comfortably. However, these numbers fluctuate quite a bit. Just one month earlier, though, that number had fallen to 10,, BPD. When it comes to oil supply , Russia is one of the major players. The country has one of the largest petroleum industries in the world, and is also the largest exporter of natural gas on the planet.
With the second-largest coal reserves and the eighth-largest oil reserves, Russia has an undeniable influence on the global energy market. Russia became one of the top oil producing countries in when its output reached 11,,00 BPD.
According to financial experts, Russia could be one of the few countries to benefit from US sanctions on Iran. If Iran toes the line on sanctions, then several major oil consumers — including China, France, Turkey, and Italy — could soon be relying on Russia for oil production.
This would give Russia an enormous economic boost and improve the relations between those countries. As such, it has invested a lot into African resources. But what African country is the largest supplier of oil to China? Well, in it was Angola, which sent 1.
Nevertheless, China is still a major player when it comes to world oil production. With its rapidly growing economy, factors that have driven its overall energy demand resulted in such high numbers. Despite recent U. This region has always been a touchy subject, especially when it comes to oil reserves. The U. When the US announced these measures, China immediately retaliated with corresponding tariffs.
The brewing trade war between China and the United States poses the risk to the global economy, including oil prices. That said, China remains one of the top oil producing countries in Asia. Presumably, it also hopes to have Iran as an oil source for years to come.
The monthly U.S. oil production reached million b/d in November , the highest monthly level of crude oil production in U.S. history. In May of , the. List of world countries by Yearly Oil Production in million cubic feet (MMcf).
Global oil production has continued to rise over the years. Oil demand has been impacted significantly by the spread of COVID, as business activity, travel and daily life continue to be disrupted. Those events, paired with the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, have sent prices for the fuel on a downward spiral in
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The 10 largest oil 1 producers and share of total world oil production 2 in 3. The 10 largest oil 1 consumers and share of total world oil consumption in 2. Learn more: International Energy Statistics: Total oil petroleum and other liquids production International Energy Statistics: Total oil petroleum and other liquids consumption Energy Explained: Where our oil comes from.
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Our Insights blog presents deep data-driven analysis and visual content on important global issues from the expert data team at Knoema. Leverage our AI Workflow Tools and online data environment to manipulate, visualize, present, and export data. The United States of America is the top country by production of crude oil in the world. As of February , production of crude oil in the United States of America was 13, Includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and NGLs the liquid content of natural gas where this is recovered separately.
These 15 countries, as home to largest reserves, control the world’s oil
Oil is a natural resource formed by the decay of organic matter over millions of years. And like many other natural resources, oil cannot be produced, only extracted where it already exists. Unlike every other natural resource, oil is the lifeblood of the global economy. The world derives over a third of its total energy production from oil, more than any other source by far. The countries on this list span five continents and control anywhere from Property taxes: Which states have the highest and lowest property taxes? In most cases, oil has been an economic boon for the countries on this list. Often, due in large part to oil production, many of these places rank among the most productive countries in the world. If mismanaged, however, oil wealth can also be a curse. Having a diversified economy is always prudent, and many countries on this list are overly dependent on their oil wealth.
OPEC members in June agreed to increase oil production to prevent a supply shortage and reduce prices after previous production cuts were deemed excessive and raised prices too much. This stabilised global prices, before rising again on anticipation of US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
This is a list of countries by oil production , as compiled from the U. Energy Information Administration database for calendar year , tabulating all countries on a comparable best-estimate basis.
Crude oil production
The 19th century was a period of great and rapid change that left an indelible mark on the US and the world. The iron and steel industries spawned new construction materials. Railroads connected cities and towns across the country. All that was left was to wait for the arrival of a new source of fuel. The discovery of Spindletop Geyser in was that defining moment. This new fuel source drove huge growth in the oil industry and allowed the US to become one of the top oil producing countries in the world. Very soon, oil became the dominant fuel of the 20th century and an integral part of the American economy. Before the Industrial Revolution, agricultural staples like corn and wheat ruled the commodity market. These days, world oil and its derivatives are the most actively traded commodities on the planet. Oil prices are growing as supply fails to keep pace with rising demand, a trend that could affect both economies and climates across the world. Crude petroleum can be refined to produce many of the products we use every day, including gasoline, diesel, and a multitude of petrochemicals. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that less than half of a gallon barrel of oil actually goes towards fuel production. The rest of it is used in the production of consumer goods like plastic, synthetic textiles, computers, cosmetics, and even steel. In other words — specific grades of oil are identical for oil trading purposes, no matter which of the world oil reserves it comes from.
The Top Oil Producing Countries: Production on a Staggering Scale
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