Some statistics on this page are disputed and controversial. Different sources (OPEC, CIA World Factbook, oil companies) give different figures. Some of the differences reflect different types of oil included. Different estimates may or may not include oil shale, mined oil sands or natural gas liquids.
Because proven reserves include oil recoverable under current economic conditions, nations may see large increases in proven reserves when known, but previously uneconomic deposits become economic to develop. In this way, Canada's proven reserves increased suddenly in 2003 when the oil sands of Alberta were seen to be economically viable. Similarly, Venezuela's proven reserves jumped in the late 2000s when the heavy oil of the Orinoco Belt was judged economic.
Reserves amounts are listed in millions of barrels. The column "Years of production in reserve" uses the daily production figures as of 2016[5] (multiplied by 365).
* indicates "Oil reserves in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" or "Energy in COUNTRY or TERRITORY" links.
Country | US EIA [6] |
OPEC [7] |
BP [8] |
Others | Oil production 2020 (bbl/day)[9] |
Years of production in reserve |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venezuela *(OPEC) | 303,806 | 302,809 | 300,900 | 527,063 | 1,578 | |
Saudi Arabia *(OPEC) | 258,600 | 266,260 | 266,000 | 9,264,921 | 76 | |
Iran *(OPEC) | 208,600 | [10] 208,600 | 155,600 | 2,665,809 | 214 | |
Canada * | 170,300 | 4,421 | 172,200 | [11] 171,000 | 4,201,101 | 111 |
Iraq *(OPEC) | 145,019 | 147,223 | 143,100 | 4,102,311 | 97 | |
Kuwait *(OPEC) | 101,500 | 104,000 | 104,000 | 2,625,145 | 106 | |
United Arab Emirates *(OPEC) | 97,800 | 98,630 | 98,630 | 3,138,249 | 85 | |
Russia * | 80,000 | 80,000 | 102,400 | 9,865,495 | 22 | |
Libya *(OPEC) | 48,363 | 74,363 | 78,400 | 408,074 | 324 | |
United States * | 47,107 | 32,773 | 55,000 | [12] 43,629 | 11,307,560 | 11 |
Nigeria *(OPEC) | 36,890 | 37,453 | 37,100 | 1,775,940 | 57 | |
Kazakhstan * | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 1,756,705 | 47 | |
China * | 26,022 | 25,627 | 18,500 | 3,888,989 | 18 | |
Qatar * | 25,244 | 25,244 | 25,244 | 1,530,000 | 45 | |
Brazil * | 12,714 | 12,634 | 13,000 | [12] 16,848 | 2,939,950 | 12 |
Algeria *(OPEC) | 12,200 | 12,200 | 12,200 | 1,122,432 | 30 | |
Guyana * | 10,000[13] | 83,174 | 329 | |||
Ecuador | 8,273 | 8,273 | 8,000 | 479,371 | 47 | |
Norway * | 8,122 | 6,376 | 8,000 | 1,712,937 | 13 | |
Angola *(OPEC) | 7,783 | 8,384 | 12,700 | 1,249,678 | 17 | |
Azerbaijan * | 7,000 | 7,000 | 7,000 | 693,880 | 28 | |
Mexico * | 5,786 | 6,537 | 10,800 | [14] 9.700 | 1,710,303 | 9 |
Oman * | 5,373 | 5,373 | 5,300 | 948,967 | 16 | |
Sudan * | 5,000 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 64,740 | 211 | |
India * | 4,604 | 4,495 | 5,680 | [12] 4,409 | 627,415 | 20 |
Vietnam * | 4,400 | 4,400 | 4,000 | 193,264 | 62 | |
Malaysia * | 3,600 | 3,600 | 3,600 | [12] 5,542 | 541,017 | 18 |
Egypt * | 3,300 | 4,400 | 3,500 | 586,735 | 15 | |
Yemen * | 3,000 | 3,000 | 66,000 | 124 | ||
Congo(OPEC) | 2,882 | 1,600 | 282,541 | 28 | ||
United Kingdom * | 2,500 | 2,069 | 2,800 | 2,618 | 947,208 | 7 |
Syria * | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 35,000 | 196 | |
Uganda * | 2,500 |
| ||||
Argentina * | 2,482 | 2,162 | 2,400 | 2,330 | 440,335 | 15 |
Indonesia * | 2,480 | 3,310 | 3,600 | [12] 3,497 | 712,112 | 10 |
Australia * | 2,446 | 3,985 | 4,000 | 4,002 | 351,180 | 19 |
Colombia * | 2,036 | 1,665 | 2,300 | 791,844 | 7 | |
Gabon *(OPEC) | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 173,634 | 56 | |
Chad * | 1,500 | 1,500 | 115,817 | 35 | ||
Brunei * | 1,100 | 1,100 | 1,100 | 98,642 | 31 | |
Equatorial Guinea *(OPEC) | 1,100 | 1,100 | 147,563 | 20 | ||
Peru * | 858 | 1,400 | [12] 1,489 | 40,386 | 58 | |
Ghana * | 660 | 199,478 | 9 | |||
Romania * | 600 | 600 | 67,574 | 24 | ||
Turkmenistan * | 600 | 600 | 600 | 184,579 | 9 | |
Uzbekistan * | 594 | 594 | 600 | 37,997 | 43 | |
Pakistan * | 540 | [12] 236 | 79,112 | 19 | ||
Italy * | 497 | 600 | [12] 595 | 100,514 | 14 | |
Denmark * | 441 | 439 | 600 | [12] 550 | 71,339 | 17 |
Tunisia * | 425 | 400 | 30,738 | 38 | ||
Ukraine * | 395 | 395 | 33,577 | 32 | ||
Turkey * | 366 | [12] 284 | 61,757 | 16 | ||
Thailand * | 252 | 400 | 202,117 | 3 | ||
Trinidad and Tobago * | 242 | 700 | [12] 830 | 56,556 | 12 | |
Bolivia * | 240 | [12] 210 | 60,161 | 11 | ||
Cameroon * | 200 | 66,749 | 8 | |||
Belarus * | 198 | 198 | 34,249 | 16 | ||
Bahrain * | 186 | 43,000 | 12 | |||
DR Congo | 180 | 23,000 | 21 | |||
Papua New Guinea * | 159 | [12] 158 | 40,249 | 11 | ||
Albania * | 150 | 14,331 | 29 | |||
Chile * | 150 | 1,582 | 260 | |||
Niger * | 150 | 9,497 | 43 | |||
Spain * | 150 | 628 | 654 | |||
Myanmar * | 139 | 8,833 | 43 | |||
Philippines | 138 | 12,249 | 31 | |||
Netherlands | 137 | [12] 141 | 14,579 | 26 | ||
Cuba * | 124 | [12] 124 | 41,079 | 8 | ||
Germany * | 115 | [12] 229 | 37,508 | 8 | ||
Poland * | 113 | [12] 151 | 18,765 | 16 | ||
Ivory Coast * | 100 | 36,746 | 7 | |||
Suriname | 89 | 14,915 | 16 | |||
Guatemala | 86 | 7,749 | 30 | |||
Serbia * | 77 | 15,249 | 14 | |||
Croatia * | 71 | 11,749 | 17 | |||
France * | 61 | 12,910 | 13 | |||
Japan * | 44 | 4,333 | 28 | |||
New Zealand * | 40 | 18,579 | 6 | |||
Kyrgyzstan * | 40 | 1,000 | 110 | |||
Austria * | 35 | 10,822 | 9 | |||
Georgia * | 35 | 400 | 240 | |||
Bangladesh * | 28 | 3,000 | 26 | |||
Mauritania * | 20 |
| ||||
Bulgaria * | 15 | 1,000 | 41 | |||
Czech Republic * | 15 | 15.0 | 2,000 | 21 | ||
South Africa * | 15 | 15 | 1,000 | 41 | ||
Israel * | 12 | [12] 12 | 300 | 110 | ||
Hungary * | 12 | [12] 35 | 16,418 | 2 | ||
Lithuania * | 12 | 2,000 | 16 | |||
Tajikistan * | 12 | 180 | 183 | |||
Greece * | 10 | 1,831 | 15 | |||
Slovakia * | 9 | 200 | 123 | |||
Benin * | 8 |
| ||||
Belize * | 6 | 1,700 | 10 | |||
Taiwan * | 2 | 196 | 28 | |||
Barbados | 1 | 1,000 | 3 | |||
Jordan * | 1 | [12] 1 |
| |||
Morocco * | 0.6 | 160 | 10 | |||
Ethiopia * | 0.4 |
| ||||
Kenya * | 0 | 750 |
| |||
South Sudan | 162,475 |
| ||||
Mongolia * | 17,582 |
| ||||
East Timor * | 14,000 |
| ||||
Portugal * | 12,932 |
| ||||
World | 1,661,905 | 1,535,773 | 1,750,600 | 76,137,732 | 60 |
wikipedia | This list is based on CIA The World Factbook (when no citation is given).[1] or other authoritative third-party sources (as cited). Based on data from EIA, at the start of 2021, proved gas reserves were dominated by three countries: Iran, Russia, and Qatar.
There is some disagreement on which country has the largest proven gas reserves. Sources that consider that Russia has by far the largest proven reserves include the US CIA (47600 cubic kilometers),[2] the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) (49000 km³),[3] and OPEC (48810 km3).[4] However, BP credits Russia with only 32900 km3,[5] which would place it in second place, slightly behind Iran (33100 to 33800 km3, depending on the source).
Due to constant announcements of shale gas recoverable reserves, as well as drilling in Central Asia, South America and Africa, deepwater drilling, estimates are undergoing frequent updates, mostly increasing. Since 2000, some countries, notably the US and Canada, have seen large increases in proved gas reserves due to development of shale gas, but shale gas deposits in most countries are yet to be added to reserve calculations.
Country | U.S. EIA (start of 2021)[6] |
OPEC (start of 2018)[7] |
BP (start of 2018)[8] |
Other | Production km³/year (in 2020)[9] |
Years of production in reserve[10] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russia * | 47,798 | 50,617 | 35,000 | 624 | 77 | |
Iran * | 33,980 | 33,810 | 33,200 | 238 (2019) | 143 | |
Qatar * | 23,871 | 23,861 | 24,900 | 167 (2019) | 143 | |
Saudi Arabia | 15,910 (2022) | 8,715 | 8,000 | 114 | 140 | |
United States * | 13,167 (2020) | 9,067 | 8,700 | 947 | 14 | |
Turkmenistan * | 11,326 | 9,838 | 19,500 | 84 (2019) | 135 | |
China * | 6,654 | 2,934 | 5,500 | 179 (2019) | 37 | |
United Arab Emirates * | 6,088 | 6,091 | 5,900 | 63 | 97 | |
Nigeria * | 5,748 | 5,627 | 5,200 | 5,932[11] | 46 (2019) | 125 |
Venezuela * | 5,663 | 5,707 | 6,400 | 23 (2019) | 246 | |
Algeria * | 4,502 | 4,504 | 4,300 | 88 (2019) | 51 | |
Iraq * | 3,738 | 3,744 | 3,500 | 11 (2019) | 340 | |
Australia * | 3,228 | 3,173 | 3,600 | 146 (2019) | 22 | |
Mozambique * | 2,832 | 5 (2019) | 566 | |||
Canada * | 2,067 | 2,059 | 1,900 | 179 (2019) | 12 | |
Uzbekistan * | 1,841 | 1,564 | 1,200 | 47 (2019) | 39 | |
Kazakhstan * | 1,840 | 1,898 | 1,100 | 26 (2019) | 71 | |
Egypt * | 1,784 | 2,221 | 1,800 | 77 (2019) | 23 | |
Kuwait * | 1,784 | 1,784 | 1,700 | 20 (2019) | 89 | |
Azerbaijan * | 1,699 | 1,227 | 2,800 | 23 (2019) | 74 | |
Norway * | 1,557 | 2,314 | 1,700 | 112 | 14 | |
Libya | 1,501 | 1,505 | 1,400 | 11(2019) | 136 | |
Indonesia * | 1,415 | 2,866 | 2,900 | 63 | 22 | |
India * | 1,388 | 1,289 | 1,200 | 28 | 50 | |
Malaysia * | 1,189 | 2,909 | 2,700 | 75 (2019) | 16 | |
Ukraine * | 1,104 | 304 | 1,100 | 20 (2019) | 55 | |
Vietnam * | 708 | 203 | 600 | 8 (2019) | 88 | |
Oman * | 651 | 884 | 700 | 37 (2019) | 18 | |
Myanmar * | 651 | 273 | 1,200 | 18 (2019) | 36 | |
Pakistan * | 595 | 757 | 400 | 38 (2019) | 16 | |
Yemen * | 481 | 300 | 0.09 (2019) | 5,344 | ||
Argentina * | 396 | 381 | 300 | 41 | 10 | |
Brazil * | 368 | 325 | 400 | 25 (2019) | 15 | |
Angola * | 339 | 422 | 7 (2019) | 48 | ||
Peru * | 311 | 513 | 400 | 12 | 26 | |
Trinidad and Tobago * | 311 | 433 | 300 | 31 | 10 | |
Bolivia * | 311 | 310 | 300 | 15 (2019) | 21 | |
Congo * | 283 | 111 | 1.4 (2019) | 202 | ||
Brunei * | 261 | 252 | 12 | 22 | ||
Syria | 241 | 300 | 300 | 4 (2019) | 60 | |
Papua New Guinea | 184 | 200 | 12 | 15 | ||
Mexico | 181 | 146 | 200 | 27 (2019) | 7 | |
United Kingdom * | 181 | 269 | 200 | 40 (2019) | 5 | |
Israel * | 176 | 500 | 10 (2019) | 18 | ||
Thailand * | 139 | 180 | 200 | 38 (2019) | 4 | |
Equatorial Guinea * | 139 | 145 | 5 (2019) | 28 | ||
Cameroon * | 135 | 152 | 3 (2019) | 45 | ||
Netherlands * | 133 | 804 | 700 | 33 (2019) | 4 | |
Bangladesh * | 127 | 346 | 200 | [12] 385 | 29 (2019) | 4 |
Romania * | 105 | 105 | 100 | 10 (2019) | 10 | |
Philippines | 99 | 4 (2019) | 25 | |||
Chile * | 99 | 5.30 | 1 | 99 | ||
Poland * | 90 | 56.3 | 100 | 5.66 | 16 | |
Colombia * | 88 | 104 | 100 | 11 | 8 | |
Sudan * | 85 | 0 | - | |||
Bahrain * | 82 | 200 | 18 (2019) | 5 | ||
Cuba * | 71 | 1 (2019) | 71 | |||
Tunisia * | 65 | 1 (2019) | 65 | |||
Namibia | 62 | 0 | - | |||
Rwanda * | 57 | 0 | - | |||
Afghanistan * | 51 | 0.08 | 638 | |||
Serbia * | 48 | 0.45 (2019) | 107 | |||
Italy * | 45 | 27.1 | 100 | 4 | 11 | |
New Zealand * | 31 | 5 | 6 | |||
Ivory Coast * | 28 | 2.44 | 11 | |||
Mauritania * | 28 | 0 | - | |||
Denmark * | 28 | 73.9 | 100 | 1.3 | 22 | |
Gabon * | 26 | 25.5 | 0.31 (2019) | 84 | ||
Croatia | 25 | 0.85 | 29 | |||
Ethiopia * | 25 | 0 | - | |||
Georgia | 8.5+16 [13] | 8.5 | 0.02 (2019) | 1,225 | ||
Germany | 23 | 39.6 | 100 | 5 (2019) | 5 | |
Ghana | 23 | 1.56 (2019) | 15 | |||
Japan * | 20 | 1.93 | 10 | |||
Moldova | - | [14] 20 | 0.006 (2019) | 3,333 | ||
Slovakia | 14 | 0.06 | 233 | |||
Uganda | 14 | 0 | - | |||
Ecuador | 11 | 5.4 | 0.34 (2019) | 32 | ||
Ireland * | 11 | 2.66 (2019) | 4 | |||
South Korea * | 8.5 | 0.24 (2019) | 35 | |||
Austria | 5.66 | 0.93 (2019) | 6 | |||
Tanzania * | 5.66 | 1.39 (2019) | 4 | |||
Taiwan * | 5.66 | 0.15 (2019) | 38 | |||
Jordan * | 5.66 | 0.12 (2019) | 47 | |||
Bulgaria | 5.66 | 0.06 | 94 | |||
Somalia * | 5.66 | 0 | - | |||
Tajikistan | 5.66 | 0.02 (2019) | 283 | |||
Kyrgyzstan | 5.66 | 0.03 (2019) | 189 | |||
Albania | 5.66 | 0.04 (2019) | 142 | |||
South Africa * | - | [15] 3 | 1.22 (2019) | 2 | ||
Turkey * | 2.83 | 300TPAO estimate | 0.48 (2019) | 6 | ||
Czech Republic | 2.83 | 0.19 | 15 | |||
Belarus * | 2.83 | 2.4 (2019) | 1.2 | |||
Hungary * | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | |||
Spain | 2.55 | 0.06 | 42 | |||
Morocco * | 1.44 | 474 | 0.1 (2019) | 14 | ||
Benin | 1.13 | 0 | - | |||
DR Congo | 0.99 | 0 | - | |||
Greece | 0.99 | 0.01 | 99 | |||
Barbados | 0.11 | 0.02 (2019) | 6 | |||
Armenia * | 0 | 18.0 | 0 | - |