There are 1.65 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves in the world as of 2016. The world has proven reserves equivalent to 46.6 times its annual consumption levels. This means it has about 47 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
A World Without Oil
If the world's supply of oil were to run out, life in the United States would be impacted greatly. Many roads and highways in the United States would be largely empty as almost 90% of cars run on gasoline.Largest oil reserves
- Venezuela – 300 billion barrels.
- Saudi Arabia – 269 billion barrels.
- Canada – 171 billion barrels.
- Iran – 158 billion barrels.
- Iraq – 143 billion barrels.
- Kuwait – 104 billion barrels.
- Russia – 80 billion barrels.
- United Arab Emirates – 98 billion barrels.
The proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia are the reportedly 2nd largest in the world, estimated to be 268 billion barrels (43×109 m3) (Gbbl hereafter), including 2.5 Gbbl in the Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone.
possible and undiscovered), the United States is at the top of the list with 264 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, followed by Russia with 256 billion, Saudi Arabia with 212 billion, Canada with 167 billion, Iran with 143 billion, and Brazil with 120 billion (Table 1).
Globally, we currently consume the equivalent of over 11 billion tonnes of oil from fossil fuels every year. Crude oil reserves are vanishing at a rate of more than 4 billion tonnes a year – so if we carry on as we are, our known oil deposits could run out in just over 53 years.
According to Rapier, Venezuela's oil reserves are largely of "extra-heavy crude oil" which might "not be economical to produce" under certain market conditions.
Countries
| Proven reserves (millions of barrels) | U.S. EIA (start of 2017) | OPEC (end of 2017) |
|---|
| Country | Rank | Reserves |
|---|
| Venezuela (see: Oil reserves in Venezuela) | 1 | 302,809 |
| Saudi Arabia (see: Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia) | 2 | 297,700 |
| Iran (see: Oil reserves in Iran) | 3 | 208,600 |
The top five oil-generating countries are as follows:
- United States. The United States is the top oil-producing country in the world, with an average of 17.87 million b/d, which accounts for 18% of the world's production.
- Saudi Arabia.
- Russia.
- Canada.
- China.
Texas is by far the largest oil-producing state in the United States, with a total production of 1.85 billion barrels in 2019. In a distant second place is North Dakota, which produced 512.3 million barrels in the same year, and Virginia was the smallest producer at just 4,000 barrels.
Energy independence is highly concerned with oil, the source of the country's principal transport fuels. In total energy consumption, the US was between 86% and 91% self-sufficient in 2016. In May 2011, the country became a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
