Crude oil prices have been declining rapidly amid falling consumption due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another factor driving down the price is Saudi Arabia’s decision to boost production after Russia refused to join the OPEC production cuts. Here we take a look at the top ten largest oil producing countries in the world. The ranking is based on data from the US Energy Information Administration for the year 2019.
Largest oil producing countries
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil demand is expected to fall by 1.1 million barrels per day in 2020. China’s oil demand declined by 1.8 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year. China accounted for over 80% of growth in oil demand last year.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration shows that global oil production was 80.62 million barrels per day in 2019. The top ten largest oil producers accounted for nearly 70% of the output.
10- Brazil, 2.51 mb/day
Brazil produced an average of 2.51 million barrels per day in 2019. The state-run Petrobras is the largest oil producer in South America. The Brazilian oil giant has been struggling with bribes, corruption scandals, political turmoil, and massive debt in recent years. Petrobras is one of the world’s most powerful oil companies.
9- Kuwait, 2.92 mb/day
Kuwait is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Middle-Eastern nation produced 2.92 million barrels of oil per day in 2019. The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) has a production capacity of 3.4 mb/day. The KPC aims to increase its production capacity to 4 mb/day by the end of 2020.
8- United Arab Emirates, 3.1 mb/day
The UAE has been a leading oil producer for decades. The state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has the 7th largest proven oil reserves in the world. The company is engaged in exploration, production, processing, and marketing of oil and natural gas. ADNOC is the largest company in the UAE.
7- Canada, 3.66 mb/day
Canada pumped an average of 3.66 million barrels of oil per day. The North American country has 13% of global oil reserves. It’s also one of the few developed countries that are net exporters of oil. Most of its oil assets are in Alberta.
6- China, 3.98 mb/day
China is the sixth largest oil producing country in the world. The state-run oil and gas companies such as the China National Petroleum Company and Sinopec are among the world’s largest oil and gas producers. Chinese companies are investing heavily in oil and gas assets across Africa and Asia to meet the massive domestic demand.
5- Iran, 3.99 mb/day
Despite the harsh economic sanctions imposed by the United States, Iran continues to pump out oil in record volumes. It averaged 3.99 million barrels per day in 2019. The National Iranian Oil Company alone has a production rate of around 3.3 mb/day. However, the Coronavirus outbreak could disrupt the country’s oil production.
4- Iraq, 4.45 mb/day
Iraq is a founding member and the second-largest oil producing country in OPEC. Last year, it produced an average of 4.45 million barrels of oil per day. The country has about 143 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Despite the massive reserves, economic sanctions, wars, and conflicts have hurt Iraq’s oil industry over the last several decades.
3- Russia, 10.8 mb/day
Russia is a non-OPEC oil producer. The OPEC countries had planned to cut oil production to prop up the prices amid falling demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. But Russia has refused to cut production. The country pumped an average of 10.8 million barrels per day in 2019. Rosneft and Lukoil are Russia’s leading oil producers.
2- Saudi Arabia, 12 mb/day
Saudi Arabia was cutting oil production in the second half of 2019 as part of OPEC’s plan to prop up global oil prices. Its production and exports both declined in the last few months of 2019. But on average, the kingdom still produced 12 mb/day last year. Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest and most profitable company. It has the second-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Saudi Arabia has significantly ramped up oil production in recent weeks.
1- United States, 15.04 mb/day
The United States is the world’s largest oil producing country with an average daily output of 15.04 million barrels. The US oil giants have significantly ramped up shale oil production in recent years. The record US production coupled with Russia’s refusal to cut production has forced Saudi Arabia to launch a price war in the global oil market. The American oil production has more than doubled since 2009.
