You world's largest oil producers are those countries where this fossil fuel is extracted on a large scale. The United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia lead this list and, in relative terms, account for 40% of all Petroleum produced in the world. The Middle East region is also a major producer, in addition to holding a large part of international reserves. It is in Venezuela, a country in South America, the largest oil reserve in the world.
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What are the biggest oil producers in the world?
We present in the list below the ten largest oil producers in the world along with their respective production, expressed in barrels of oil per day, and the share it represents in world scale.
Parents |
Production (in barrels of oil per day) |
Share of world production |
U.S |
16.476.000 |
18,6% |
Saudi Arabia |
11.039.000 |
12,5% |
Russia |
10.667.000 |
12,1% |
Canada |
5.135.000 |
5,8% |
Iraq |
4.114.000 |
4,7% |
China |
3.901.000 |
4,4% |
United Arab Emirates |
3.657.000 |
4,1% |
Will |
3.084.000 |
3,5% |
Brazil |
3.026.000 |
3,4% |
Kuwait |
2.686.000 |
3% |
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy and Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo (IBP), 2021. Data for the year 2020.
Oil producers are those countries that carry out the extraction and the processing of this raw material, which can either be used internally (in the domestic market) or traded abroad. The world produces 88,391,000 barrels of oil daily., which corresponds to 4.16 billion tons in one year. Of all world production, 31.3% comes from the Middle East.
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What is oil?
the oil it is a fossil fuelfound in nature in regions where the sedimentary basins. It is a low density and viscous liquid, formed mainly by hydrocarbons. It is the result of the decomposition of organic matter in the subsoil, a process that took place over millions of years. For this reason, oil is considered a source non-renewable energy. This means that the non-rational use of this resource can result in its depletion.
Oil reserves are found in both continental and oceanic basins, in the marine subsoil, located thousands of meters below the surface. The extraction of this fuel for its use as raw material is done through three stages, which are prospecting, drilling and, finally, extraction, which is carried out on the so-called drilling platforms. Petroleum.
oil is today one of the main energy sources of the world, used mainly for the production of fuels. Global consumption reaches 100 million barrels a day, with the United States, China and India being the biggest consumers of this input.
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How important is oil?
The importance of Petroleum lies in the fact that it is considered a natural resource, that is, an element that is very useful for the development of human activities and for the economy in general. Crude oil is traded internationally as a commodity, and many national economies are highly dependent on this activity, especially in countries where this resource is found in abundance. In recent years, the oil trading was responsible for 3% of the GDP worldwide.
As a fossil fuel, oil is today the main source power used all over the world. It represents approximately 31% of the global energy matrix. Petroleum is a raw material for the production of gasoline, diesel oil, cooking gas, kerosene, lubricants, asphalt and many other products widely used in our daily lives and which are obtained from the refining of this element.
What are the largest oil reserves in the world?
Oil reserve corresponds to the volume of the element present in the subsoil of a given territory that is capable of extraction and refining.
The world currently has an oil reserve of approximately 1.73 trillion barrels, which is equivalent to 244 billion tons of this fossil fuel. Only Middle Eastern countries hold 48.3% of this amount. It is also worth noting that 70% of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Opep.
Parents |
Reserves (in billions of barrels) |
Share of world reserves |
Venezuela |
303,8 |
17,5% |
Saudi Arabia |
297,5 |
17,2% |
Canada |
168,1 |
9,7% |
Will |
157,8 |
9,1% |
Iraq |
145 |
8,4% |
Russia |
107,8 |
6,2% |
Kuwait |
101,5 |
5,9% |
United Arab Emirates |
97,8 |
5,6% |
U.S |
68,8 |
4% |
Libya |
48,4 |
2,8% |
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2021. Data for the year 2020.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
GUITARRA, Paloma. "The world's largest oil producers"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/os-maiores-produtores-de-petroleo-do-mundo.htm. Accessed March 22, 2022.
