Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
On every continent of our planet, there are a number of countries that, in one way or another, have achieved significant success in the development of the oil industry and have taken a confident position in the world market. The rating of the best periodically changes: new players enter the “team” of oil giants, and some leave it. Who ranked in the top 10 of 2019? Everything turned out to be expected, but not without the chess permutations.
- About the distribution of the world's oil reserves
- World leaders in oil production
- USA (12.1 million barrels per day)
- Russia (10.7 million barrels per day)
- Saudi Arabia (9.6 million barrels per day)
- Iraq (4.6 million barrels per day)
- Canada (4.2 million barrels per day)
- China (3.8 million barrels per day)
- UAE (3.1 million barrels per day)
- Kuwait (2.7 million barrels per day)
- Brazil (2.6 million barrels per day)
- Iran (2.2 million barrels per day)
About the distribution of the world's oil reserves
Undoubtedly, the energy sector of the future will undergo significant changes, placing its stake on renewable sources. And then you will have to hastily decide how to quickly and safely dispose of hundreds of oil rigs around the world. But today it is oil that is the most valuable resource and the main driving force for most of the world's economies, bringing profit and benefit.
To understand why some countries, and not others, were on the list of leaders in terms of the volume of oil products produced, it is enough to understand the scheme of distribution of the planet's oil reserves. Everything is banal, simple and very uneven: more than 60% of all deposits are located in the territory of the Middle East. It's about the Persian Gulf.
Another 13% of the deposits are 'hidden' in North and South America: the center of this zone is considered Alaska, Canadian Alberta, Venezuela, which, by the will of fate, does not even fall into the top ten today and the sea shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. Central Asian countries account for about 10% of oil reserves. The remainder is scattered across the Indonesian basin, Australia, Oceania, etc.
World leaders in oil production
| Nomination | a place | Country | Production volume |
| World leaders in oil production | 1 | USA | 12.1 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY |
| 2 | Russia | 10.7 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 9.6 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 4 | Iraq | 4.6 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 5 | Canada | 4.2 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 6 | China | 3.8 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 7 | UAE | 3.1 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 8 | Kuwait | 2.7 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 9 | Brazil | 2.6 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY | |
| 10 | Iran | 2.2 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY |
USA (12.1 million barrels per day)
Rating: 5.0
Until 2015, the United States was not even one of the top ten countries selling “black gold” to the world market. But over the years, the situation has changed dramatically. Today, American oil policy is governed by a simple rule: “the more, the better.” This is not surprising, since the population has rapidly increased its “appetite” in recent years, and today the volumes of oil consumed for the needs of the country significantly exceed its available reserves. And they are colossal – the state's reserve is estimated at about 1.4 billion barrels.
Therefore, states have to import raw materials from their neighbors. Paradoxically, it is true: the world leader in oil production is one of the largest importers of 'black gold'. In April 2019, the country set a new world record for daily oil production – 12.2 million barrels per day. This became possible thanks to two regions – the state of Texas (a well-known shale mining center) and the Gulf of Mexico, where large offshore projects are located.
The rapid progress of the country's oil industry is due to a healthy investment climate and actively introduced modern technologies. This ensured the rapid development of new deposits and the use of unconventional sources of valuable raw materials such as shale and bituminous sand.
Russia (10.7 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.9
It is not the first year that Russia has been a constant participant in the top ten in the field of oil production: the country accounts for about 11% of the world indicators of extracted raw materials. Despite such an impressive position in the oil market, Russia cannot yet boast of the intensity of oil development and the level of technologies used in this process. The main obstacle to this is the geographic location of most of Russia's oil reserves.
The fact is that impressive reserves of raw materials are located in the underdeveloped Far East, inaccessible Siberia and in the Arctic territories. If we take these reserves into account, Russian oil deposits can be considered no less impressive than in the United States – about 100 billion barrels.
In recent years, there has been a steady trend in the change in the structure of 'black gold' production: the share of produced gas condensate has increased. This became possible due to the involvement of Western Siberia gas reserves in oil development. By the way, it is the oil industry in Russia that is its leading industry and includes not only production, but also refining, production, and, of course, sales. About 1/3 of the country's exports in monetary terms is oil.
Saudi Arabia (9.6 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.8
Unfortunately for itself, in the last couple of years the country has lost its leadership in terms of the volume of oil products produced, but this does not mean that it has lost its leadership in its influence on the world oil market. Saudi Arabia has been a member of OPEC (an intergovernmental organization that controls oil quotas) for many years and often dictates prices to the world market.
The country was one of the first to focus on the development of its oil industry, starting in 1946. It took only 3 years to radically change the course of the industry: at present, almost half of the country's GDP comes from oil production and oil production.
The largest consumers of Arabian products are the countries of East Asia and another participant in the top ten is the United States. Saudi Arabia's oil deposits are impressive, with one fifth of the world's 'black gold' reserves located on its territory: about 270 billion barrels. Such indicators indicate that the country will remain on the world stage for a long time.
It is noteworthy that until 2011, Saudi Arabia's oil reserves were the largest in the world, until Venezuela announced its proven reserves of raw materials – about 297 billion barrels. And, nevertheless, the level of development of the oil industry of this country has not yet allowed it to stay in the top ten oil giants.
Iraq (4.6 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.7
It is one of the leaders not only in terms of the volume of oil produced, but also in terms of the number of its deposits on its territory: the country's proven reserves amount to more than 145 billion barrels of valuable raw materials. The reserves of hydrocarbons are also incredibly large: Iraq ranks third in the world in terms of their quantity, and the proceeds from the sale of these raw materials make up about 90% of the country's total income.
Even some 15 years ago, the state did not dream of such a rapid development of its oil industry: the invasion of the territory of American troops hit hard on the oil industry and the economy of Iraq as a whole. Since 2010, when the UN Security Council lifted the economic sanctions imposed on the country, there has been a turning point.
At the same time, one of the largest tender in the history of Iraq was held for the sale of rights to develop and produce oil fields. The result was a rapid leap forward in the development of the oil industry. Today Iraq is one of the world's exporters of 'black gold': it supplies about 5% of the world's oil to the oil market.
Canada (4.2 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.6
The country of maple leaves is not for nothing considered one of the most active oil producers in the world: its valuable deposits amount to about 180 billion barrels and Canada is doing everything possible to extract them from its bowels as efficiently and quickly as possible. The predominant part of the oil feedstock is bituminous sands. By the way, this is a rather unconventional type of combustible mineral. The fact is that the so-called oil sands are considered one of the most difficult to obtain.
Nevertheless, the country is actively developing technologies and gradually increasing the power of its oil industry. Canada accounts for about 5% of the world's daily oil production. Moreover, the country is considered the main American exporter. Canada's proven reserves of 'black gold' exceed 178 billion barrels, which is approximately 13% of the world's total.
China (3.8 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.5
The socialist giant has been actively developing oil fields on its territory for more than half a century, steadily providing about 5% of the total volume of oil produced in the world. And over the past few years, the state's oil industry has begun to rapidly build momentum. Unfortunately, this did not particularly affect the quality indicators: the rapid development of the economy and the impressive number of residents do not allow the level of oil production to exceed the level of its consumption.
So, in 2009, China overtook the United States in terms of the amount of energy resources consumed, thereby taking over the palm, held by them for a whole century (!).
China's proven reserves are quite modest – only 20 billion barrels. Nevertheless, China does not despair and relies on the development of oil production technologies. Hydraulic fracturing among them.
UAE (3.1 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.4
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of 7 equal territorial units (emirates) and has a very favorable economic and geographical position – in the south of the Persian Gulf. And this region, as you know, literally “gushes” with oil. The country's share in the world's daily oil production is about 4%, and proven reserves reach 98 billion barrels.
One fact is noteworthy: almost 90% of all oil deposits are located on the territory of one of the most famous and developed emirates – Abu Dhabi. Since 2003, he has been the leader in the country's oil industry. While this emirate has so far been friendly to its brethren, it is not known how the situation might change in the future.
In recent years, the country has begun to pay increased attention to the search for new oil fields and the development of those already discovered. At the same time, oil refining and marketing of oil products went into the background. The UAE is a major global exporter. The main buyers are Japan, the USA and Western Europe.
Kuwait (2.7 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.3
Kuwait is considered to be the owner of large oil fields. The first wells in the country were launched back in 1938. Today, the country's share in the world daily oil production is about 3%. It is worth noting that after the 7-month occupation of the country by Iraq in 1991, during which there were intensified attempts to destroy the oil industry, Kuwait's economy suffered greatly. During this period, millions of tons of fossil fuels were simply poured into the Persian Gulf.
Today, Kuwait is confidently among the leaders in terms of production of “black gold”, 90% of which is exclusively exported. And high rates of oil production ensure a decent standard of living for the population. The estimated deposits of the country's valuable raw materials are 104 billion barrels, and thanks to the active introduction of the latest technologies, this figure is constantly growing.
Brazil (2.6 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.2
After the discovery in 2006 of the largest field in the Western Hemisphere (Lula), located in Brazil, the country's oil industry experienced a sharp upward leap. In recent years, this particular industry has become one of the leaders in the country's economy. Although the country does not refuse from renewable sources of energy raw materials. It's about the production of fuel from sugar cane. It is not for nothing that Brazil is considered a bioenergy superpower.
Not so long ago, another oil field was discovered in the Santos oil and gas basin, the “capacity” of which, according to experts, was more than 12 billion barrels. Analysts predict that Lula will achieve her peak performance by 2020. It is believed that this particular field has such a powerful potential that will help solve the world's problems with a shortage of oil. Today, Brazil's share in world oil production is about 3%.
Iran (2.2 million barrels per day)
Rating: 4.1
The country is conveniently placed in the last place of our top ten oil giants, but this does not mean that it has the least influence on the oil market. Iran is a member of OPEC and often, along with Saudi Arabia, allows itself 'liberties', sometimes influencing the price of 'black gold'.
In the 70s, Iran was deservedly considered one of the leaders in oil production, reaching its historic daily maximum of 6.6 million barrels. After the Islamic revolution, the country has not returned to such indicators for more than 30 years, although the discovered reserves have almost doubled over the years. The sanctions imposed by a number of countries in 2011 hurt Iran's already shaky oil industry, and only their lifting allowed the industry to rise from its knees.
A feature of Iranian oil fields is the purity of most of the raw materials, which makes it possible to get by with a little blood, using the simplest technologies when extracting it and minimizing material and labor costs. The country's oil deposits are estimated at approximately 157 billion barrels, which will ensure the uninterrupted development of the country's industry for another century.
Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
