July 2016 Exclusive Story
By Per Magnus Nysveen
OSLO, NORWAY–The United States now holds the world’s largest recoverable oil reserve base–more than Saudi Arabia or Russia–thanks to the development of unconventional resource plays.
Ranking nations by the most likely estimate for existing fields, discoveries and as-of-yet undiscovered fields (proved, probable. possible and undiscovered), the United States is at the top of the list with 264 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, followed by Russia with 256 billion, Saudi Arabia with 212 billion, Canada with 167 billion, Iran with 143 billion, and Brazil with 120 billion (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Estimated Global Oil Reserves
Importantly, unconventional plays account for more than 50 percent of remaining U.S. oil reserves, with Texas alone holding more than 60 billion barrels of recoverable oil in shale plays.
The reserves data distinguish between reserves in existing fields and new projects, and potential reserves in recent discoveries and still undiscovered fields. The estimates include crude oil plus condensate.
An established standard approach for estimating reserves is applied to all fields in all countries, so reserves can be compared apple-to-apple across the world, both for OPEC and non-OPEC countries.
Other public sources of global oil reserves are based on official reporting from national authorities, with reserves reported based on a diverse and opaque set of standards. For example, some OPEC countries, such as Venezuela, report official reserves apparently including yet-undiscovered oil, while China and Brazil officially report conservative estimates and only for existing fields.
Total global oil reserves are estimated at 2,092 billion barrels, or 70 times the current production rate of about 30 billion barrels of oil a year. For comparison, cumulatively produced oil through 2015 amounted to 1,300 billion barrels.
Unconventional oil recovery accounts for 30 percent of the global recoverable oil reserves, while offshore fields account for 33 percent of the total. The seven major oil companies hold less than 10 percent of the total recoverable reserve base.
Considering only proved reserves (1P), the study ranks Saudi Arabia at the top with 70 billion barrels, followed by Russia with 51 billion, Iran with 32 billion, the United States with 29 billion and Canada with 24 billion. Ranked by proved plus probable reserves (P2), Saudi Arabia holds 120 billion barrels, followed by Russia with 77 billion, Iran with 59 billion, Canada with 41 billion and the United States with 40 billion.
FAQs
The United States has the largest known deposits of oil shale in the world, according to the Bureau of Land Management and holds an estimated 2.175 trillion barrels (345.8 km3) of potentially recoverable oil.
What country has the most recoverable oil? ›
Saudi Arabia unsurprisingly leads the way in total recoverable oil with 271 billion barrels.
How many years of recoverable oil does the US have? ›
government estimates, the United States' technically recoverable oil resource base totals 162.9 billion barrels. increased to replace all imports from the Persian Gulf, our own oil would still last for about 50 years. whenever we look for oil, we tend to find more.
How much oil reserves does the US actually have? ›
We estimate that the United States had 44,418 million barrels of proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate as of December 31, 2021—an increase of 16% from year-end 2020.
Where is the largest untapped oil reserve in the world? ›
Details: Kashagan field is the largest single untapped oil field in the world and the fifth largest ever discovered. Development is underway. In fact, crude was supposed to have started flowing in 2005, but repeated delays have pushed the date to 2013.
How much recoverable oil is left in the world? ›
World Oil Reserves
The world has proven reserves equivalent to 46.6 times its annual consumption levels. This means it has about 47 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
What country has the cleanest oil? ›
The cleanest oil and gas comes from Norway and the Arabian Gulf, the cheapest is in the Gulf. But when global economic justice is considered, the fairest is in smaller nations in the developing world – the likes of Libya, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkmenistan.
Who controls the most oil in the world? ›
Many countries produce crude oil
- The top five crude oil producers and their percentage shares of world crude oil production in 2022 were:
- United States14.7%
- Saudi Arabia13.2%
- Russia12.7%
- Canada5.6%
- Iraq5.5%
The United States has become the leading global oil producer in the modern oil environment, holding the top spot followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Iran, Kuwait, and Iraq all rank highly in the top 10 oil-producing countries.
Why doesn't the US use its own oil? ›
That happens because of a combination of economics and chemistry. The economics are simple: overseas oil, even after shipping costs, is often cheaper than domestically-produced crude.
That equates to somewhere in the region of 1.65 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves. Other sources up this estimate a bit, but most agree we have around 50 years left, give or take. For reference, a barrel of crude oil is about 42 gallons or about 159 liters.
Where is the largest oil deposit in the United States? ›
Texas houses far more proved crude oil reserves than any other U.S. state. As of 2021, there was over 18.6 billion barrels of crude oil reserves in Texas; the largest sources being the Eagle Ford and Permian basin.
Has the US produced more oil than any country in history? ›
The United States produced more crude oil than any nation at any time, according to our International Energy Statistics, for the past six years in a row.
How much oil is undiscovered? ›
WASHINGTON—Excluding the United States, the world holds an estimated 565 billion barrels (bbo) of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil; 5,606 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional natural gas; and 167 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable ...
Which US state has the largest oil reserves? ›
Texas has seen a 32.4% increase in the size of its proved oil reserves over the last five years, further cementing its place as the top oil state in the U.S. With over 17 billion barrels of proved oil reserves, Texas now has more than three times the total of the next-highest state, New Mexico (4.5 billion).
Does the United States have the most untapped oil reserves? ›
Thanks to the shale oil boom, the US is now sitting on more oil reserves than Russia, which estimates as having 256 billion barrels of untapped oil. The next-richest countries in terms of oil after that are: Saud Arabia (212 billion), Canada (167 billion), Iran (143 billion) and Brazil (120 billion).
Does the US have more oil than any other country? ›
United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
