Top 15 Countries with the Largest Oil Reserves in the World: China Ranked 12th, USA 8th!
15 Algeria
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 12.2 billion barrels
Algeria imports very little energy as its domestic consumption is met through its own oil and natural gas production, which is heavily subsidized. Oil production almost entirely dominates the export economy of this North African country, with 60% of Algeria's total output being exported.
All of Algeria's oil reserves are found onshore, with nearly 80% of hydrocarbon production being carried out by the state oil company Sonatrach.
14 Brazil
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 13.242 billion barrels
Brazil has the world's largest recoverable ultra-deepwater oil reserves, with 97.6% of its oil produced offshore. Despite being the largest oil producer in Latin America, the country continues to import oil products to meet growing domestic demand and to compensate for its fuel price subsidies.
The state oil giant, Petrobras, must also compete with importers, and its next five-year strategic plan will focus on making the country's gasoline and diesel production self-sufficient.
13 Qatar
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 25.244 billion barrels
Qatar, one of OPEC's oldest members, withdrew from the organization in January 2019 to allocate more resources and investments towards natural gas and LNG infrastructure projects. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2021, Qatar's revenue from the hydrocarbon industry accounted for 81% of the government's total revenue, up from 77% in 2020.
In 2022, Qatar's daily oil production exceeded 1.76 million barrels, placing it among the world's largest oil producers.
12 China
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 27.003 billion barrels
China's state-owned oil and gas giant, CNOOC, discovered a massive deepwater oil field in the South China Sea with proven oil equivalent exceeding 100 million tons.
Despite its large oil reserves, China was still the largest buyer of Saudi oil in 2022, purchasing 87.49 million tons of crude oil for the year, equivalent to 1.75 million barrels per day. Due to high domestic demand, China ranks as the world's largest importer of oil.
11 Kazakhstan
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 30 billion barrels
Kazakhstan holds the largest proven oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region, with crude oil and condensate production of about 1.8 million barrels per day in 2021. Although Kazakhstan already has significant reserves, it is estimated that there are an additional 6-10 billion barrels of undiscovered reserves, mostly in the Caspian Sea region of Kazakhstan.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is the largest private oil producer in Kazakhstan, holding significant stakes in the country's two largest oil fields – Tengiz and Karachaganak.
10 Nigeria
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 36.967 billion barrels
To enhance Nigeria's energy security, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has begun exploring onshore frontier basins with the aim of increasing the country's proven crude oil reserves from the current 37 billion barrels to 50 billion barrels.
In January, it was announced that Africa's largest refinery had finally started production in Nigeria. For a country that primarily relies on importing refined petroleum, this $19 billion facility is a boon, capable of producing 650,000 barrels of oil per day.
9 Libya
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 48.363 billion barrels
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, accounting for 39% of the continent's total reserves. However, due to domestic armed conflicts and political instability, the country's oil production has fluctuated over the past decade.
Libya also ranks among the countries with the cheapest gasoline prices in the world. Gas prices are set by the national oil company and heavily subsidized by the government. In fact, gasoline in Libya is even cheaper than water.
8 United States
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 55.251 billion barrels
The United States is the world's largest oil producer, accounting for 14.7% of the world's total crude oil production by 2022. Annually, domestic oil and gas production is estimated to save U.S. consumers $203 billion, or $2,500 per household. Furthermore, the oil and gas industry provides over 12 million jobs, generates billions in tax revenue, and ensures energy security. Texas, with over 18.6 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, is the state with the largest oil reserves in the United States.
Due to the shale oil boom, the U.S. is considered one of the countries with the largest undeveloped oil reserves in the world.
7 Russia
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 80 billion barrels
Despite being one of the countries with the largest oil reserves, Russia's oil industry has faced numerous problems recently, including Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, production declines in West Siberian brownfields, rising costs, and high carbon intensity in oil production.
6 Kuwait
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 101.5 billion barrels
Kuwait is a major oil producer and a member of the OPEC consortium. The oil industry accounts for nearly half of the country's GDP and about 95% of its export revenues. Kuwait aims to increase its oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day by 2035, with plans to prepare infrastructure for the Durra gas field, which is shared with Saudi Arabia and claimed by Iran.
Kuwait holds about 7% of the world's oil reserves, ranking sixth on our list of countries with the most oil reserves.
5 United Arab Emirates
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 113 billion barrels
To increase its crude oil capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027, ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) plans to invest $150 billion in upstream exploration and development. About 96% of the UAE's proven oil reserves are located in Abu Dhabi.
Although the UAE ranks among the top oil producers, the host of COP28 claims to invest "far more" in renewable energy than in oil and gas. In 2022, the UAE invested up to $36 billion in overseas renewable energy projects, highlighting its commitment to a green future.
4 Iraq
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 145.019 billion barrels
Iraq is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC, second only to Saudi Arabia, holding 17% of the proven oil reserves in the Middle East and 8% globally. All of Iraq's oil fields are located onshore, mostly in the Basra region in the south, the Diyala region east of Baghdad, and the Kirkuk region in the northeast.
Iraq's Prime Minister's financial advisor, Mazhar Mohammad Saleh, stated that the market value of the country's oil, gas, and other natural resources exceeds $15 trillion.
3 Iran
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 208.6 billion barrels
For Iranians, cheap gasoline is practically considered a birthright as their country is one of the world's top three oil holders. Extensive national subsidies have kept gas prices low. However, due to the widening gap between supply (limited by domestic refining capacity) and growing demand, the government has been forced to tap into strategic reserves and import gasoline for the first time in a decade.
Approximately 80% of Iran's oil production comes from aging oil fields facing pressure declines, resulting in an annual production drop of 8% to 10%.
2 Saudi Arabia
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 267.192 billion barrels
Saudi Arabia holds about 17% of the world's proven oil reserves. The country, operated by Saudi Aramco, boasts the world's largest conventional onshore oil field (Ghawar) and the largest conventional offshore oil field (Safaniya).
In 2022, Saudi Aramco's revenue reached $535.2 billion, up 49% from 2021. That same year, the state-owned oil producer also recorded a profit of $161 billion, the largest annual profit ever for an oil and gas company, driven mainly by surging energy prices and growing global demand. The company plans to continue investing to increase its maximum potential capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027.
Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil company by production.
1 Venezuela
Proven Oil Reserves in 2022: 303.221 billion barrels
Despite having the world's largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has failed to fully capitalize on its oil wealth due to U.S. sanctions, an ongoing economic crisis, and mismanagement. Moreover, much of Venezuela's oil is located offshore or deep underground and is considered heavy, making it economically unfeasible to extract with current available technologies.