In this article, we take a look at the top 20 oil exporting countries in 2023. If you want to see more top oil exporting countries in 2023, go directly to Top 5 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023.
There are different types of oils. When it comes to energy, oil is often used to mean crude oil. In this article, oil means crude oil.
Crude oil is essential for a modern economy as it helps power internal combustion vehicles and helps produce plastics that consumers use every day.
Given they have larger reserves of crude oil, some countries produce more crude oil than other countries do. For those of you interested, check out Top 20 Oil Producing Countries in 2022.
It can take a lot of capital investment and multiple years for a country to develop their crude oil reserves to bring to the market. In order to export oil to overseas locations, a country will need to develop an oil field, build a pipeline or railway to export oil to a seaport, and build the seaport. Each of those steps can cost many millions or even billions of dollars depending on the scale of the project.
For exporting oil over land, a country will still need to develop an oil field and build pipelines or railways to their destinations.
In order to prevent oversupply, some oil producing countries in OPEC+ also limit their production. OPEC+ is OPEC countries in addition to countries like Russia which is a major oil producer. According to OPEC in 2021, the country's members had over 80% of the world's proven crude oil reserves.
OPEC describes itself, "OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry."
Net oil exports can help a country that exports oil develop economically. With the money raised from oil exports, countries can develop their infrastructure more or increase spending on education which could further increase economic growth in the future.
Given the price of oil has changed substantially over the past decade, the value of total oil exports has also changed substantially over the past decades.
If oil prices go substantially higher, the value of total oil exports can go higher if it is sold on the spot market. If oil prices go significantly lower, the value of total oil exports can also go lower if it is sold on the spot market. Some countries use financial derivatives to hedge production, however, so the values of exports might be different at different times depending on the derivatives and the value of oil prices.
In terms of the price of crude oil, it depends on many different factors including supply, demand, economic conditions, and on whether economic data meets estimates. In the longer term, the price of oil will also depend on how quickly electric vehicle adoption increases and how much oil emerging markets will need to power their economies.
It is important to note that the data does not take into account crude oil imports. As a result, the data is not net crude oil exports.
Some countries like Canada both import and export crude oil given some of the country's oil fields produce crude oil that its refineries isn't best suited for.
Much of the data from the CIA is from 2015 so there could be some changes in terms of absolute production. We assume that the top exporting countries in 2023 will be similar but not the same on an absolute scale. Some countries like Russia might not export as much oil given the Russian Ukraine war.
Top 20 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023
The following is for exports and not net exports.
20. United Kingdom
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2017: 710,600
The United Kingdom is a crude oil exporter with exports of 710,600 barrels per day as of 2017. Much of the country's exports is from offshore fields in the North Sea and the exports have helped the country's economy over the past few decades. Given its huge economy, the United Kingdom also imports crude oil which isn't factored into the CIA data on this list. In 2021, the country imported £17.6 billion crude oil and exported £17.9 billion crude oil in the same year.
19. Azerbaijan
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 718,800
Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic that borders the Caspian Sea that ranks #19 on our list of Top 20 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023 given crude oil exports of 718,800 as of 2015. In terms of more recent data, the International Monetary Fund estimates the country exported 557,991 barrels of crude oil per day as of April 27 2022.
18. Colombia
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 726,700
Colombia exported 726,700 barrels per day of crude oil in 2015, making it one of the larger South American exporters of crude oil for the year. As of December 2021, the country is still a substantial exporter, with exports of 442,167 barrels of crude oil per day according to CEIC Data. According to the Oil & Gas Journal, Colombia has 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil reserves as of January 2022.
17. Brazil
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 736,600
Brazil has an estimated 12.7 billion barrels of proved oil reserves as of January 2021 and the country has over the past few decades developed more of its potential, especially offshore. As a result of its potential and its development, Brazil's crude oil production has increased. While it exported 736,600 barrels of crude oil per day in 2015, Brazil's crude oil exports were over almost 1.3 million barrels per day in December of 2021 according to CEIC Data. Like many other countries, Brazil also imports crude, which isn't included in this data, but Brazil is still a net crude oil exporter overall.
16. Iran
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 750,200
Iran is a member of OPEC with proven crude oil reserves of 208.6 billion barrels as of 2021. Iran is also a considerable exporter of crude oil, with exports of 763,000 barrels per day in 2021 according to OPEC. In 2015, Iran exported 750,200 barrels of crude oil a day according to the CIA.
15. Algeria
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 756,400
Algeria is another member of OPEC with proven crude oil reserves of 12.2 billion barrels. The country exported 446,000 barrels per day in 2021 according to OPEC. Algeria ranks #15 on our list of Top 20 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023.
14. Oman
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 844,100
Oman is a member of OPEC+ which is OPEC countries in addition to some oil producing countries like Russia. In terms of exports, Oman exported 844,100 barrels of crude oil per day in 2015. In December 2021, the country exported 896,706 barrels per day according to CEIC Data.
13. Qatar
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 1,150,000
Qatar isn't just the host of the 2022 World Cup. The country is also a major oil and gas producer that 1,150,000 barrels of crude oil a day in 2015. As of 2021, Qatar is also the largest global exporter of LNG.
12. United States
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2017: 1,158,000
When taking into account imports, the United States was a net importer of crude oil in 2017. Nevertheless, given it is sometimes more economical to export crude oil to refineries outside the United States, the country exported 1,158,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2017 according to the CIA.
In terms of 2021, the United States remained a net crude oil importer, importing 6.11 million barrels of crude oil per day and exporting 2.96 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Given crude oil production has increased in recent years, the United States has potential to be a net exporter of crude oil within a few years. When the United States becomes a net crude exporter will depend on the price of crude oil, the amount of investment in crude oil production, and on demand.
11. Mexico
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2017: 1,214,000
Mexico exported 1,214,000 barrels of crude oil in 2017, with a substantial percentage going to the United States refineries in the South. Mexico also exports crude oil to Europe, India, and various Asian Pacific countries.
10. Norway
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2017: 1,383,000
Oil and gas is a big industry for Norway as the country exported 1,563,389 barrels per day in December 2021 according to CEIC Data. Given its substantial production, the country is the second largest exporter of crude oil in Europe. Globally, Norway ranks #10 on our list of Top 20 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023.
9. Kazakhstan
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 1,409,000
Kazakhstan is a former Soviet Republic that exported 1,323,000 barrels per day in December 2021 according to CEIC Data.
8. Venezuela
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 1,656,000
Venezuela is a member of OPEC that exported 448,000 barrels per day in 2021. The country also produced 23.72 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021.
7. Angola
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 1,782,000
Angola is an OPEC country that exported 1,080,000 barrels per day of crude oil in 2021. The country also exported 5.08 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the same year.
6. Nigeria
Crude Oil Exports (barrels per day) as of 2015: 2,096,000
Nigeria is an OPEC country in Africa that exported 1,592,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 38.46 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021.
