What Country Is the World's Largest Oil Producer? (2024)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is often cited as the world's largest oil producer. The country produces 13.24% of the oil consumed in the entire world daily. Saudi Arabia has the second-largest reserves of naturally occurring oil in the world after Venezuela. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia's oil resources amount to 260 billion barrels of oil.

Biofuels, Liquid Fuel, and Shale Gas

However, if you take into account the production of biofuels and liquid fuel produced from natural gases as well as oil production, then the United States is the largest producer in the world. The U.S. has been at the forefront of the extraction of natural shale gas, particularly at sites in North Dakota and Texas, and this has been instrumental in raising the country's national energy source production.

Oil is a precarious market, and there is always the possibility that another nation could overtake both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. as the largest international producer of oil. There is a large number of untapped resources in Iraq, but discovery and refinement are currently being hindered because of terrorist activity and civil unrest. In addition, there are huge amounts of oil in African countries, such as Libya and Nigeria, which are also underdeveloped due to political upheaval and other problems.

There are also untapped resources in Northern Siberia, a Russian territory. Russia is currently the world's third-largest producer of oil, and therefore it is entirely possible that the country could present a challenge in the future as a top oil producer.

What Country Is the World's Largest Oil Producer? (2024)

FAQs

What Country Is the World's Largest Oil Producer? ›

Top 10 biggest oil producers

Who is the number 1 oil producing country? ›

United States

Which country has the highest oil in the world? ›

1. Venezuela. Venezuela possesses the greatest oil reserves in the world, estimated to be more than 300 billion barrels. However, a combination of U.S. sanctions, an ongoing economic crisis, and mismanagement has hindered the nation's ability to fully capitalize on its oil wealth.

Who is the biggest oil manufacturer in the world? ›

Saudi Aramco is the world's largest integrated oil and gas company and its stock is not traded in the United States.
  1. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. ( Saudi Aramco) ...
  2. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. ( SNPMF) ...
  3. PetroChina Co. Ltd. ( ...
  4. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) ...
  5. Shell PLC (SHEL) ...
  6. TotalEnergies SE (TTE) ...
  7. Chevron Corp. ( ...
  8. BP PLC (BP)

Does US produce more oil than Saudi Arabia? ›

Average annual production in Saudi Arabia peaked in 2022 at 10.6 million b/d, which was 1.3 million b/d less than in the United States that year. In 2023, crude oil production in Saudi Arabia declined by about 900,000 b/d because of OPEC+ cuts and further voluntary cuts Saudi Arabia made to offset weaker demand growth.

Who has more oil Texas or Alaska? ›

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. Alaska is the fourth-most oil rich U.S. state, with more federal land having been made available for oil drilling by the outgoing U.S. government in 2021.

Who has highest quality oil? ›

The best crude oil in the world is found in Malaysia. “Tapis, the Malaysian crude benchmark traded in Singapore, has for a long time held the title of the world's most expensive grade.

What country has the most natural gas? ›

Russia has the largest proved natural gas reserves in the world. As of 2022, it held reserves worth 47.8 trillion standard cubic meters worth of the fossil fuel.

Can the US supply its own oil? ›

You see, the U.S. does produce enough oil to meet its own needs, but it is the wrong type of oil. Crude is graded according to two main metrics, weight and sweetness. The weight of oil defines how easy it is to refine, or break down into its usable component parts, such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

Which country has the best oil quality? ›

Lightest, Low-Sulfur, Low Tan Crude Oil Deposits in the World. The best crude oil in the world is found in Malaysia. “Tapis, the Malaysian crude benchmark traded in Singapore, has for a long time held the title of the world's most expensive grade.

Where does US get its oil? ›

Canada is the main source country for petroleum imported into the United States. In 2022, the United States imported around 4.35 million barrels of petroleum per day from its northern neighbor.

Which 2 countries use the most oil? ›

Oil Consumption by Country
#CountryWorld Share
1United States20.3 %
2China13.2 %
3India4.6 %
4Japan4.1 %
94 more rows

Who are the 7 sisters of oil? ›

The seven sisters were the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (later Exxon), the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony, later Mobil, which eventually merged with Exxon), the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal, later renamed Chevron), the Texas Oil Company (later renamed Texaco), Gulf Oil (which later merged ...

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. And, while the U.S. does produce enough oil to meet its own needs, it is the wrong type of oil.

Does Mexico have more oil than the US? ›

Mexico has the seventeenth largest oil reserves in the world, and it is the fourth largest oil producer in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States, Canada and Venezuela.

Why does America want oil so much? ›

Cars have ti have gas and oil on a regular basis. We dont have passenger train systems like other countrys. We drive many miles in a day most days and we use A LOT of gas and oil. On top of that we manufacture and use thousands if products made from petroleum.

Who are the top 3 producers of oil? ›

In 2022, 98 countries produced about 80.75 million barrels of crude oil, and five of those countries accounted for about 52% of the total.
  • 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%

Is the US number 1 in oil production? ›

In recent history, the top three producers have been the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Each of these countries experienced major production declines at different times in the past, but since 2014 all three have been producing near their peak rates of 9 to 11 million barrels per day.

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