We all know who the biggest producers of crude oil in the world are and can list the top three without effort. But here’s the thing – the biggest producers are not necessarily the countries with the biggest reserves.
USA
Sources estimate the U.S. crude oil reserves differently. Some, such as the Energy Information Administration, put these at a little under 36 billion barrels and count condensate reserves separately.
Kuwait
Kuwait has some 101.5 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, according to OPEC. The tiny Gulf state produces between 2.4 million and 2.67 million barrels of oil daily and exports some 1.7 million bpd.
UAE
OPEC’s third-biggest oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, holds an estimated 111 billion barrels of crude oil and produces an average of 2.7 million barrels of it daily. Of this, it exports 2.3 million barrels daily, according to OPEC data.
Russia
Russia has some 80 billion barrels in proven crude oil reserves, according to the EIA, and as of this month, produces around 9.4 million barrels daily, excluding condensates.
Iran
Iran has oil reserves of 208.6 billion barrels and produces around 2.39 million barrels daily. Of this, it only exports a little over 760,000 bpd, per OPEC data. The reason for the substantial gap between reserves, production, and exports are, of course, U.S. sanctions that the former administration re-imposed on Iran.
Saudi Arabia
The world’s second-largest producer and OPEC’s largest, Saudi Arabia, has proven reserves of some 267 billion barrels. Production was a little over 9 million barrels daily in 2021, which rose to 11.5 million bpd in 2022, only to be cut recently by half a million bpd as part of the latest round of output cuts in OPEC+.
Venezuela
One of the most troubled countries in the world, Venezuela is also the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, pegged at over 300 billion barrels. Yet U.S. sanctions, a now chronic economic crisis, and corruption have combined to prevent the country from making the most of its oil riches.
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Source: Oilprice
