World’s Largest Oil Reserves
What is 1 barrel of oil worth in comparison to human productivity?
Estimates suggest 1 barrel equals to 25,000 hours of human labour
(12.5 years at 40 hours per week)
or
1 barrel equals 12 men working 40 hours per week for one year.
Who Has The Most Oil?
Big movements in the price of oil can have significant effects in the general economy, and although the commodity is off its all-time highs, countries with the most oil within their borders are set to benefit as demand for crude continues to rise.
With much of the world’s existing reserves found in the Middle East, Gulf of Mexico and a few other locations around the globe, individual countries benefit incredibly from their surprisingly high concentrations of oil.
As of 2010, the US government estimates that the world has proven reserves in the neighborhood of 1.35 trillion barrels; the net amount of oil fields that have been identified as having a reasonable certainty of recovery. Labeling subterranean oil proved reserves takes into consideration both the logistic feasibility, political and economic conditions surrounding the oil’s physical extraction.
With the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration, here are the countries with the biggest proven oil reserves.
1. Saudi Arabia
Proved oil reserves: 259.9 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 19.20%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 9.76 million barrels
Consumption: 2.43 million barrels
Exports to the US: 1.09 million barrels (Dec. 2010)
2. Canada
Proved oil reserves: 175.2 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 12.94%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 3.29 million barrels
Consumption: 2.15 million barrels
Exports to the US: 2.71 million barrels (Dec. 2010)
3. Iran
Proved oil reserves: 137.6 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 10.16%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 4.18 million barrels
Consumption: 1.69 million barrels
Exports to the US: 0
4. Iraq
Proved oil reserves: 115 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 8.5%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.4 million barrels
Consumption: 636,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 336,000 barrels (Dec. 2010
5. Kuwait
Proved oil reserves: 101.5 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 7.5%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.5 million barrels
Consumption: 372,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 125,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)
6. Venezuela
Proved oil reserves: 99.4 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 7.34%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.47 million barrels
Consumption: 723,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 917,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)
7. United Arab Emirates
Proved oil reserves: 97.8 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 7.22%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.79 million barrels
Consumption: 492,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 10,000 barrels (Sept. 2010)
8. Russia
Proved oil reserves: 60 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 4.43%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 9.93 million barrels
Consumption: 2.74 million barrels
Exports to the US: 514,000 barrels (Dec. 2010
9. Libya
Proved oil reserves: 44.3 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 3.27%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 1.79 million barrels
Consumption: 264,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 66,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)
10. Nigeria
Proved oil reserves: 37.2 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 2.75%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.21 million barrels
Consumption: 272,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 1.07 million barrels (Dec. 2010)
11. Kazakhstan
Proved oil reserves: 30 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 2.22%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 1.54 million barrels
Consumption: 241,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 21,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)
12. Qatar
Proved oil reserves: 25.4 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 1.88%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 1.21 million barrels
Consumption: 147,000 barrels
Exports to the US: 16,000 barrels (Dec. 2010
13. China
Proved oil reserves: 20.4 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 1.51%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 3.99 million barrels
Consumption: 8.32 million barrels
Exports to the US: 8,000 barrels (Dec 2010)
14. United States
Proved oil reserves: 19.2 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 1.42%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 9.14 million barrels
Consumption: 18.81 million barrels
15. Brazil
Proved oil reserves: 11.65 billion barrels
Proportion of world total: 0.95%
Daily Oil Statistics (2009):
Total oil production: 2.57 million barrels
Consumption: 2.52 million barrels
Exports to the US: 295,000 barrels (Dec 2010)