As the world consumed nearly 100 million barrels of oil every single day in 2022, a complex global industry operated at a staggering scale to meet that demand, defining geopolitics, economies, and our environmental future.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, global crude oil production reached 99.4 million barrels per day (bpd)
- Saudi Arabia produced 10.7 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- The United States produced a record 12.9 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- Global proved oil reserves totaled 1,731.9 billion barrels at end-2022
- Venezuela holds the largest proved oil reserves at 303.3 billion barrels
- Saudi Arabia has 258.6 billion barrels of proved oil reserves
- Global oil consumption was 99.7 million bpd in 2022
- US oil consumption averaged 20.0 million bpd in 2022
- China consumed 15.0 million bpd of oil in 2022
- Brent crude oil averaged $100 per barrel in 2022
- WTI crude averaged $94 per barrel in 2022
- Dubai crude price averaged $98 per barrel in 2022
- ExxonMobil employed 62,000 people worldwide in 2022
- Chevron's market cap reached $348 billion peak in 2022
- Saudi Aramco produced 10.7 million bpd, world's largest
This blog post details 2022 global oil production levels, reserves, consumption, and environmental impacts.
Companies
- ExxonMobil employed 62,000 people worldwide in 2022
- Chevron's market cap reached $348 billion peak in 2022
- Saudi Aramco produced 10.7 million bpd, world's largest
- TotalEnergies revenue $263 billion in 2022
- Shell employed 82,000 staff in 2022
- Occidental Petroleum acquired Anadarko boosting to 1.2M bpd
- ConocoPhillips production 1.8 million boe/d in 2022
- Global oil industry employed 10 million direct jobs in 2022
- Aramco market cap $2.3 trillion in 2022
- Petrobras produced 2.8 million boe/d in 2022
- Equinor (Norway) output 2.0 million boe/d
- Global refining capacity 102 million bpd in 2022
- Valero Energy processed 3.2 million bpd
- Marathon Petroleum throughput 3.0 million bpd
- Phillips 66 refined 2.0 million bpd in 2022
- Sinopec China capacity 5.7 million bpd
- Reliance Jamnagar world's largest refinery at 1.24M bpd
- Oil industry capex globally $500 billion in 2022
- Majors' dividends totaled $100 billion in 2022
- Global oil tanker fleet 2.2 billion dwt in 2022
- Maersk Oil traded 100 million tons seaborne oil
Companies Interpretation
While Saudi Aramco towers with a $2.3 trillion crown, the gears of this global machine—from the 10 million jobs it powers to the 102 million barrels it refines daily—hum on a scale so vast that ExxonMobil's 62,000 employees are but one crew on a tanker fleet large enough to hold 2.2 billion deadweight tons of the very substance that makes it all run.
Consumption
- Global oil consumption was 99.7 million bpd in 2022
- US oil consumption averaged 20.0 million bpd in 2022
- China consumed 15.0 million bpd of oil in 2022
- India’s oil demand grew to 5.0 million bpd in 2022
- Europe's oil consumption fell to 13.5 million bpd in 2022
- Japan's consumption was 3.3 million bpd in 2022
- Saudi Arabia consumed 3.4 million bpd domestically in 2022
- Road transport accounts for 55% of global oil demand
- Petrochemicals demand for oil reached 14 million bpd in 2022
- Aviation fuel demand recovered to 5.5 million bpd in 2022
- Global diesel consumption was 32 million bpd in 2022
- Gasoline demand hit 25 million bpd globally in 2022
- South Korea oil use at 2.6 million bpd in 2022
- Brazil consumed 3.1 million bpd in 2022
- Russia’s domestic consumption 3.6 million bpd in 2022
- Middle East oil demand totaled 8.5 million bpd in 2022
- OECD countries consumed 45.2 million bpd in 2022
- Non-OECD demand was 54.5 million bpd in 2022
- Global oil demand growth was 2.5 million bpd in 2022
Consumption Interpretation
Despite a global greening chorus, 2022's story was one of sobering thirst: while Europe sipped less, the world still chugged nearly 100 million barrels a day, proving that kicking the oil habit is a marathon where everyone is still lacing up their shoes.
Environment
- Oil spills from tankers totaled 150,000 tons in 2022
- Global upstream oil methane emissions 80 million tons CO2e in 2021
- Oil production emits 1.5 Gt CO2 annually from flaring
- US oil industry water use 10 billion barrels/year
- Global oil spills volume 1 million tons from 1970-2022
- Flaring volume worldwide 140 bcm in 2022
- Permian Basin methane intensity 2.5% in 2022
- Oil & gas sector 15% of global anthropogenic methane
- Deepwater Horizon spill released 4.9 million barrels in 2010
- Global CO2 from oil combustion 11.5 Gt in 2022
- Nigeria Niger Delta oil spills 1.5 million tons since 1976
- Arctic oil drilling risks high with 75% ice melt
- Biofuel mandates reduced oil GHG by 50 MtCO2 in 2022
- Oil sands tailings ponds cover 220 km2 in Canada
- Global oil CCS capacity 40 MtCO2/year operational 2022
- Fracking uses 20 trillion liters water globally since 2011
- ExxonMobil fined $1 billion for air pollution violations
- EU ETS covers 40% oil refining emissions
- Oil industry deforestation 5 million ha Amazon 1985-2022
- Seeps natural oil spills 600,000 tons/year globally
- Chevron Ecuador spill fined $9.5 billion
Environment Interpretation
The oil industry’s staggering legacy of spills, emissions, and environmental degradation reads like a case study in trading our planet’s health for fuel, proving that the true cost of a barrel of oil is measured in poisoned water, scorched air, and a dangerously altered climate.
Prices
- Brent crude oil averaged $100 per barrel in 2022
- WTI crude averaged $94 per barrel in 2022
- Dubai crude price averaged $98 per barrel in 2022
- Henry Hub natural gas linked to oil prices spiked with oil in 2022
- OPEC basket price reached $100.58 average in 2022
- Global oil refining margins hit $15 per barrel in 2022
- Brent peak price was $123 per barrel in March 2022
- WTI futures traded up to $123 in 2022
- Urals crude discounted to $70 average in 2022 due to sanctions
- Global LNG prices correlated with oil at $30/MMBtu peak 2022
- Diesel crack spread averaged $40 per barrel in 2022
- Gasoline retail price in US averaged $3.95/gallon in 2022
- Brent-WTI spread narrowed to $2.70 average in 2022
- Dated Brent averaged $99.27 in 2022
- Oil price volatility index (OVX) averaged 40 in 2022
- ExxonMobil reported $55.7 billion profit in 2022 driven by high oil prices
- Global oil trade value exceeded $1 trillion in 2022
- Shell's LNG division saw prices triple to $50/MMBtu avg 2022
- Chevron earned $35.5 billion in 2022 from high prices
- BP profits hit $27.7 billion in 2022
- Global oil inventories drew down by 1.4 million bpd in 2022
Prices Interpretation
In 2022, the world's frantic scramble for anything that burns allowed oil companies to ring up profits of cartoon-villain proportions, while the rest of us just watched the numbers at the pump climb with a grim, knowing sigh.
Production
- In 2022, global crude oil production reached 99.4 million barrels per day (bpd)
- Saudi Arabia produced 10.7 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- The United States produced a record 12.9 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- Russia's crude oil production averaged 10.1 million bpd in 2022
- Canada’s oil sands production hit 3.3 million bpd in 2022
- Iraq produced 4.4 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- UAE crude oil output was 3.5 million bpd in 2022
- Brazil's crude oil production grew to 3.1 million bpd in 2022
- China's crude oil production was 4.1 million bpd in 2022
- Norway produced 2.0 million bpd of crude oil in 2022
- Kuwait's production stood at 2.7 million bpd in 2022
- Iran's crude oil output was 3.5 million bpd despite sanctions in 2022
- Global oil production from offshore fields accounted for 30% of total in 2022
- Permian Basin in the US produced 5.9 million bpd in 2022
- Qatar's crude oil production was 1.3 million bpd in 2022
- Nigeria produced 1.4 million bpd in 2022 amid theft issues
- Kazakhstan's oil production reached 1.8 million bpd in 2022
- Libya's output fluctuated to average 1.2 million bpd in 2022
- Global shale oil production contributed 10 million bpd in 2022
- Venezuela produced 0.8 million bpd in 2022
- Angola's crude oil production was 1.1 million bpd in 2022
- Oman produced 1.0 million bpd in 2022
- Colombia's oil production was 0.8 million bpd in 2022
Production Interpretation
Despite geopolitical turmoil and sanctions, the world's thirst for oil remains unquenchable, with a 100 million barrel-per-day habit powered by an uneasy alliance of superpowers, petrostates, and shale wildcatters.
Reserves
- Global proved oil reserves totaled 1,731.9 billion barrels at end-2022
- Venezuela holds the largest proved oil reserves at 303.3 billion barrels
- Saudi Arabia has 258.6 billion barrels of proved oil reserves
- Canada’s oil sands reserves are estimated at 166.2 billion barrels
- Iran possesses 208.6 billion barrels of proved reserves
- Iraq has 145.0 billion barrels of oil reserves
- UAE oil reserves stand at 111.0 billion barrels
- Russia’s proved reserves are 80.0 billion barrels
- Kuwait holds 101.5 billion barrels
- US proved crude oil reserves increased to 44.4 billion barrels in 2021 (latest detailed)
- Libya has 48.4 billion barrels of reserves
- Nigeria’s reserves are 36.9 billion barrels
- China’s proved oil reserves are 26.1 billion barrels
- Qatar reserves at 25.2 billion barrels
- Brazil has 12.7 billion barrels of proved reserves
- Algeria holds 12.2 billion barrels
- Kazakhstan reserves estimated at 30.0 billion barrels
- Norway has 8.0 billion barrels remaining reserves
- Global R/P ratio for oil reserves is 49.5 years at 2022 rates
- Undiscovered technically recoverable oil resources globally: 565 billion barrels
- Permian Basin holds 46 billion barrels undiscovered
Reserves Interpretation
While Venezuela's treasure chest leads the pack with over 300 billion barrels, the sobering global math reveals we're operating on a 50-year warranty with limited, though not insignificant, backup stock.
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