Who are the world's largest oil producers?

The United States was the world's largest oil producer from 2018 to 2022, producing nearly 18 million barrels per day last year, equivalent to nearly a fifth of total global supply, according to Visual Capitalist, which based on data from the Energy Institute.

According to the mentioned source, almost three quarters of US oil production is concentrated around five states: Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska and Colorado.

Behind the United States, which is the undisputed world leader, is Saudi Arabia, with a production of twelve million barrels per day, equivalent to about a fifth of the global supply. Russia ranked third, with eleven million barrels per day produced in 2022. Together with Canada and Iraq, whose productions amounted to 5.6 million barrels and 4.5 million barrels, respectively, the top five producers of the world supplied more than half of the world's entire oil supply last year.

According to the Energy Institute, the top ten oil producers, which also include the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Brazil, Kuwait and China, are responsible for more than 70% of the world's oil production. It should be noted that the production of all the big ten giants increased between 2021 and 2022, so that the global supply rose by 4.2% last year compared to the previous one.

• Top oil producing regions in 2022

The Middle East accounted for a third of global oil production, and North American producers supplied nearly another third of global supply last year. The Commonwealth of Independent States - the organization of countries that were part of the former Soviet bloc - represents another major regional producer of oil, with a share of 15% of world production, according to the Institute's data.

Even though global production is increasing, Europe's share is in decline reaching just 3% of the world's crude oil supply last year. Over the past two decades, EU oil production has fallen by more than 50% due to several factors, including stricter environmental regulations and the shift to natural gas, writes Visual Capitalist.

The members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran or Kuwait, produce approximately 35% of the world's oil production and hold approximately 70% of the world's reserves. In the case of the OPEC+ group, that is, OPEC plus its allies - especially Russia, the share of oil production amounts to more than half of the world supply.

Oil is an essential element of the modern economy, so countries with large amounts of crude oil have immense political and economic benefits. Entire regions prospered and wars were fought for control of resources. On the other hand, the trend towards renewable energies is causing many major oil exporters to diversify their economies. However, the world still needs oil, which accounts for almost a third of global energy demand, writes Visual Capitalist.