This article ranks oil reserves by country according to estimates by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The CIA defines oil reserves as “the stock of proved reserves of crude oil in barrels (bbl) . . . which, by analysis of geological and engineering data, can be estimated with a high degree of confidence to be commercially recoverable from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under current economic conditions.”
World oil reserves currently amount to nearly 1.4 trillion barrels of crude. The world presently consumes 97 million barrels of oil each day. Based on these reserve and consumption rates, therefore, the world has 39 years of oil reserves. This calculation does not account for future finds or the phenomenon known as “reserves growth”– the tendency of oil reserves to grow as technology advances in the industry.
The oil reserve (bbl) rankings that follow include each country’s percent of world oil reserves, daily national consumption rates, and oil reserves measured in years.
1. Oil Reserves by Country: Saudi Arabia
Oil reserves (bbl): 246.6 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 17.88%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 2.43 million
Oil reserves (years): 278
2. Oil Reserves by Country: Canada
Oil reserves (bbl): 175 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 12.78%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 2.15 million
Oil reserves (years): 223
3. Oil Reserves by Country: Iran
Oil reserves (bbl): 137.6 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 9.97%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 1.81 million
Oil reserves (years): 208
4. Oil Reserves by Country: Iraq
Oil reserves (bbl): 115 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 8.34%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 687,000
Oil reserves (years): 459
5. Oil Reserves by Country: Kuwait
Oil reserves (bbl): 104 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 7.54%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 320,000
Oil reserves (years): 890
6. Oil Reserves by Country: United Arab Emirates
Oil reserves (bbl): 97.8 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 7.09%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 435,000
Oil reserves (years): 616
7. Oil Reserves by Country: Venezuela
Oil reserves (bbl): 97.77 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 7.08%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 740,000
Oil reserves (years): 362
8. Oil Reserves by Country: Russia
Oil reserves (bbl): 79 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 5.73%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 2.85 million
Oil reserves (years): 76
9. Oil Reserves by Country: Libya
Oil reserves (bbl): 47 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 3.41%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 280,000
Oil reserves (years): 460
10. Oil Reserves by Country: Nigeria
Oil reserves (bbl): 37.5 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 2.72%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 280,000
Oil reserves (years): 367
11. Oil Reserves by Country: Kazakhstan
Oil reserves (bbl): 30 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 2.18%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 241,000
Oil reserves (years): 341
12. Oil Reserves by Country: Qatar
Oil reserves (bbl): 25.41 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 1.84%
Daily national consumption (bbl) : 142,000
Oil reserves (years): 490
13. Oil Reserves by Country: China
Oil reserves (bbl): 20.35 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 1.48%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 8.2 million
Oil reserves (years): 7
14. Oil Reserves by Country: United States
Oil reserves (bbl): 19.12 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: 1.39%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 18.69 million
Oil reserves (years): 3
15. Oil Reserves by Country: Angola
Oil reserves (bbl): 13.5 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .98%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 70,000
Oil reserves (years): 528
16. Oil Reserves by Country: Algeria
Oil reserves (bbl): 13.42 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .97%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 325,000
Oil reserves (years): 113
17. Oil Reserves by Country: Brazil
Oil reserves (bbl): 13.2 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .96%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 2.46 million
Oil reserves (years): 15
18. Oil Reserves by Country: Mexico
Oil reserves (bbl): 12.42 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .90%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 2.08 million
Oil reserves (years): 16
19. Oil Reserves by Country: Azerbaijan
Oil reserves (bbl): 7 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .51%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 136,000
Oil reserves (years): 141
20. Oil Reserves by Country: Sudan
Oil reserves (bbl): 6.8 billion
Percent of world oil reserves: .49%
Daily national consumption (bbl): 84,000
Oil reserves (years): 222
Source(s):
Country Comparison : Oil – consumption,” THE WORLD FACTBOOK, Central Intelligence Agency
“Country Comparison : Oil – proved reserves,” THE WORLD FACTBOOK, Central Intelligence Agency
