The World’s Top Oil Producers

Oil generates revenue for countries with enough oil reserves to produce more oil than they consume. And for those economies that are heavily dependent on imports, oil expenditures must be factored into national budgets. Not surprisingly, events such as unrest in oil-producing regions, new oil field discoveries, and advances in extraction technology profoundly affect the oil industry. Most of the time, the top oil-producing countries in the world rake in a lot of profit from oil production.

Global production of oil and other petroleum liquids averaged 100.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and is expected to rise to 101.8 million b/d in 2023. The top five oil-producing nations in 2022 were the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and China. The United States topped the list with a production of 18,875,000 barrels per day (bpd). Saudi Arabia came in second with an output of 10,835,000 BPD and possesses 17% of the total proven petroleum reserves on a global scale.

In addition to these individual country producers, the Organization of Oil Producing Countries, or OPEC, remains a powerful cartel of oil producers worldwide that can influence the global market price. For instance, in April 2023, OPEC surprised markets by announcing output cuts totaling around 3.66 million b/d, or 3.7% of global demand. This sent the price of oil up, skyrocketing 7%.

United States

The United States has grown to become the top petroleum liquids producer in the world, averaging 18.9 million b/d to account for 20% of the world’s production in 2022. It's also the top producer of crude oil and lease condensate.

In addition to crude oil and condensate, the broader category of petroleum liquids also includes natural gas plant liquids as well as biofuels. While the U.S. has been the world's top petroleum liquids producer since 2013 thanks to surging natural gas liquids production from shale deposits, it does not surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia in terms of proven reserves remaining under the ground.

Much of the increased U.S. crude oil production is attributable to hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in the shale formations that range from Texas to North Dakota. Natural gas liquids production received an even larger boost from the development of the Marcellus Shale deposits in western Pennsylvania. The United States became a net exporter of petroleum (i.e., exports exceeded imports) for the first time since at least 1949 in 2020 but is expected to return to net importer status in the coming years as domestic demand increases.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia contributed 10.8 million b/d, the second-largest producer of the world’s total petroleum liquids production in 2022. It holds 17% of the world's proved oil reserves and was the largest crude exporter in 2020. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia is the only member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to make this list.

According to the CIA World Factbook, the petroleum sector accounts for roughly 42% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), 87% of its budget revenues, and 90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia’s major oil fields include Ghawar, Safaniya, Khurais, Manifa, Shaybah, Qatif, Khursaniyah, Zuluf, and Abqaiq.

Russia

Russia remains one of the world’s top oil producers, coming in the #3 spot despite economic sanctions and trade restrictions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia’s main regions of oil production are Western Siberia, Urals-Volga, Eastern Siberia, and the Far East. Most of the production originates from the West Siberia and Volga-Urals regions, especially the Priobskoye and Samotlorskoye fields in Western Siberia.

The oil industry in Russia was privatized after the fall of the Soviet Union, but in 2021, the state forced a consolidation and a restructure. Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil are the top Russian oil and gas producers.

Russia and its ability to produce an export oil, however, have recently been subject to geopolitical tensions. Since 2022, Russia has dropped out of the top 10 largest economies in the world, and that its economy is heavily dependent on exports of natural resources, rather than higher-value-added industries.

Sanctions, boycotts, and export restrictions levied in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for instance, have hurt Russia's output, even as Putin was able to negotiate with trading partners like India and China. Russia also has experienced internal issues with political stability and security, which were brought to light during the brief mutiny of the private military contractor, the Wagner Group. Further disruption or uncertainty in Russian oil supply could cause prices to rise for everyone, adding to the inflationary pressures that have already been triggered by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Canada

Canada held the fourth spot among the world’s petroleum liquids producers. The EIA estimates its crude oil and condensate production of 4.2 million b/d in 2020 could grow to 6.9 million b/d by 2050, primarily from oil sands production.

Canada’s main sources of oil production are the oil sands of Alberta, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and Atlantic offshore fields.

China

China rounds out the top 5 global oil producers. The country surpassed the U.S. to became the world's largest oil importer in 2017, and it is now the world's second-largest consumer in the world after the U.S.

The northeast and north-central regions of the country are responsible for the majority of domestic production. Mature fields like Daqing have been heavily drilled for oil since the 1960s, and companies are increasingly investing in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, such as polymer and stream flooding and water injection, to offset some of the production declines.

The Bottom Line

Despite the growth in renewable energy and a dip in demand due to the COVID19 pandemic, oil production continues to play a significant role in the global economy with global petroleum output approaching new record highs. The top oil-producing nations in 2022 were the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and China, with OPEC remaining a powerful cartel of oil producers with the ability to influence global market prices.