Ranking of Petroleum Reserves, Production, and Extraction Costs of Major Countries in the World

Typical National Oil Overview:

First Place: Venezuela

Venezuela is a major oil country. According to the World Energy Reserves Statistics published by British Petroleum (BP) in June 2016, Venezuela's proven oil reserves are estimated at 300.9 billion barrels. On March 16 this year, Dow Jones News reported that, according to secondary sources from OPEC, Venezuela's oil production fell below 2 million barrels per day for the first time since 2003. At the current production rate, it can be extracted for another 408 years, with an extraction cost of about $23.5 per barrel. However, the currently low oil prices make it difficult for a country whose primary fiscal revenue comes from oil exports.

Second Place: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has always been wealthy due to its oil resources, and its extraction costs are extremely low. According to various reports, their extraction costs are as low as $10 per barrel, with many oil fields having extraction costs of around $1 per barrel. The proven oil reserves are approximately 266 billion barrels. The country's wealth primarily comes from oil, with oil sales accounting for 75% of the country's total export revenue. On January 13 this year, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum stated that Saudi Arabia had reduced its crude oil production to below 10 million barrels per day, the lowest level in nearly two years. Even at a consumption rate of 10 million barrels per day, its reserves can last for 73 years, and there are still unexplored reserves. Therefore, this country will remain very wealthy for decades to come. With a population of 31.54 million, if 10 million barrels of oil are produced daily at a price of $45 per barrel, the daily per capita income from oil production alone exceeds $14.

Third Place: Iran

Iran's proven oil reserves are 137 billion barrels. According to Azerbaijan News Agency (APA) on February 5, 2017, Iran will increase its daily oil production to 4 million barrels by the end of this fiscal year (March 20, 2017). At the same time, an agreement with OPEC stipulates that Iran's daily oil production should not exceed 3.79 million barrels. At the end of November 2016, OPEC decided to reduce its oil production to 32.5 million barrels per day. The organization announced that in the first half of 2017, the average production of its member countries would decrease by about 1.2 million barrels per day. However, Iran directly ignored OPEC's production cut agreement. Based on its daily consumption of 4 million barrels, its reserves are conservatively estimated to last for 94 years. This is largely because Iran has been subject to economic sanctions in recent years, and the recent slight relaxation of sanctions has led to a rush to expand production and earn foreign exchange. The CEO of Iran Central Oil Fields Company, Salbari Karimi, said, "Currently, the production cost of the cheapest crude oil in central Iran is about $1 to $1.5 per barrel." This low cost is likely related to the long-term economic sanctions and the high value of the dollar. If capital were freely allowed in, the costs would not be so low.

Fourth Place: Iraq

Iraq's proven oil reserves are 115 billion barrels. Based on January's production of approximately 4.51 million barrels per day, and without considering other factors such as export and consumption growth, its reserves are conservatively estimated to last for 70 years. Iraq's January oil production decreased by 200,000 barrels per day compared to December, which is close to the 210,000 barrels per day reduction required by the OPEC production cut agreement. Their extraction costs are roughly below $20 per barrel. According to industry analysts, the current average extraction cost of crude oil worldwide is about $35 per barrel.

Fifth Place: Kuwait

Kuwait's proven oil reserves are 102 billion barrels, with current production at about 3 million barrels per day. Their costs are also very low, estimated to be below $10 per barrel.

Sixth Place: United Arab Emirates

The UAE's proven oil reserves are 98 billion barrels, with current production at about 2.9 million barrels per day.

Seventh Place: Russia

Russia's proven oil reserves are 77 billion barrels, with current production at about 1.1 million barrels per day. Russia's difficult-to-extract oil reserves exceed 20 billion tons, with extraction costs of $20 per barrel, while traditional oil extraction costs are $8 per barrel.

Eighth Place: Libya

Libya's proven oil reserves are 46 billion barrels, with current production at about 800,000 barrels per day. Their extraction costs are also very low.

Other Individual Countries:

United States (Twelfth Place)

The U.S. proven oil reserves are 46 billion barrels. However, if non-traditional shale oil is included, U.S. oil reserves are estimated to exceed 260 billion barrels. Shale oil used to be difficult to obtain, but now, due to new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, it is being extracted in large quantities, rapidly elevating the U.S.'s position in global oil production and changing the global energy landscape. Current production is about 5.19 million barrels per day, with extraction costs of about $36 per barrel.

China (Fourteenth Place)

China's proven oil reserves are 46 billion barrels, with current production at about 3.9 million barrels per day. Extraction costs are roughly $50 per barrel, with offshore extraction costs about $60 per barrel. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on April 13 this year, China imported 105 million tons of crude oil in the first quarter, a 15% increase year-on-year. This is equivalent to an average daily import of 8.55 million barrels of crude oil in the first quarter. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's average daily crude oil production in January-February 2017 decreased by 1.5% from December last year to 3.91 million barrels per day, an 8% decrease from the same period last year. Given the current oil prices, domestic extraction costs are higher than oil prices, leading to losses. Thus, rather than producing at a loss, it is better to rely on imports, which likely explains the decline in production.

Overall, Middle Eastern countries have very low oil extraction costs, mostly below $10 per barrel, with large production and reserves. The extraction costs in the Americas and China are relatively high, while Russia's extraction costs are low.

Finally, here is a list of the major members of OPEC: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

There are currently 12 member countries: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, and Venezuela.