Oil rig in action
Crude oil was the world’s number one export product in 2018, outpacing exports of refined petroleum oils in second-place then cars as the third-most valuable exported commodity on the planet.
As a group, Middle Eastern countries continued to sell the highest dollar value worth of crude oil exports during 2018 with shipments valued at $486.1 billion or 42.9% of globally exported crude oil.
From a continent level, roughly half of unprocessed petroleum oil came from countries in Asia (49.5%). Europe supplied 16.9% of the overall total, followed by Africa at 13.7% and North American nations at 12.5%. Smaller percentages came from Latin America (6.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.6%) led by Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for crude oil is 2709.
Crude Oil Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2018.
- Saudi Arabia: US$182.5 billion (16.1% of total crude oil exports)
- Russia: $129 billion (11.4%)
- Iraq: $91.7 billion (8.1%)
- Canada: $66.9 billion (5.9%)
- United Arab Emirates: $58.4 billion (5.2%)
- Kuwait: $51.7 billion (4.6%)
- Iran: $50.8 billion (4.5%)
- United States: $48.3 billion (4.3%)
- Nigeria: $43.6 billion (3.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $37.8 billion (3.3%)
- Angola: $36.5 billion (3.2%)
- Norway: $33.3 billion (2.9%)
- Libya: $26.7 billion (2.4%)
- Mexico: $26.5 billion (2.3%)
- Venezuela: $26.4 billion (2.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries accounted for 80.4% of all crude oil exported in 2018.
Four top countries posted increases in their international sales of crude oil since 2014 namely: United States (up 292.1%), Libya (up 69.4%), Iran (up 30.5%) and Iraq (up 9%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported crude oil sales were led by: Venezuela (down -51%), Nigeria (down -39.8%), Angola (down -35.3%), Kazakhstan (down -29.5%) and Norway (down -28%).
Please note that the published statistics for Saudi Arabia are strictly estimates, given constraints on source data from that jurisdiction.
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for crude oil during 2018. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s crude oil exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Saudi Arabia: US$182.5 billion (net export surplus down -27.1% since 2014)
- Russia: $129 billion (down -16%)
- Iraq: $91.7 billion (up 9%)
- United Arab Emirates: $55.9 billion (down -22.4%)
- Canada: $52 billion (down -22%)
- Kuwait: $51.7 billion (down -25.4%)
- Iran: $50.8 billion (up 30.5%)
- Nigeria: $43.6 billion (down -39.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $37.8 billion (down -29.3%)
- Angola: $36.5 billion (down -35.3%)
- Norway: $31.6 billion (down -30.4%)
- Libya: $26.7 billion (up 69.4%)
- Mexico: $26.4 billion (down -25.9%)
- Venezuela: $26.4 billion (down -50.9%)
- Oman: $22.5 billion (down -35.5%)
Based on estimated data for Saudi Arabia in 2018, that Middle Eastern country earned the highest surplus in the international trade of crude oil in 2018. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Saudi’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for crude oil during 2018. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s crude oil import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$238 billion (net export deficit up 4.5% since 2014)
- United States: -$114.5 billion (down -52.5%)
- India: -$114.5 billion (down -15.7%)
- Japan: -$80.6 billion (down -38.3%)
- South Korea: -$80.4 billion (down -15.4%)
- Germany: -$45 billion (down -31.5%)
- Netherlands: -$35.7 billion (down -11%)
- Spain: -$33.4 billion (down -19.5%)
- Italy: -$32.2 billion (down -15.6%)
- France: -$28.5 billion (down -26.7%)
- Singapore: -$27.9 billion (down -18.7%)
- Thailand: -$27.6 billion (down -15.9%)
- Taiwan: -$23.4 billion (down -27.2%)
- Belgium: -$18.5 billion (down -26.8%)
- Poland: -$14.4 billion (down -14.8%)
The People’s Republic of China incurred the highest amount of red ink trading crude oil on international markets in 2018. That negative cashflow highlights China’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category. The other side of the coin is that these deficits signal opportunities for crude oil-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand, and also for entrepreneurs who develop alternative energy sources that can power industrial economies.
Companies
Crude Oil Exporting Companies
Based on the Forbes 2016 Global 2000 rankings, the following oil and gas companies are among the top 100 largest companies in the world:
- Exxon Mobil (United States)
- PetroChina (China)
- Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands)
- BP (United Kingdom)
- Chevron (United States)
- Gazprom (Russia)
- Total (France)
- Sinopec-China Petroleum (China)
- Petrobras (Brazil)
- Rosneft (Russia)
- Eni (Italy)
- Statoil (Norway)
- ConocoPhillips (United States)
- LukOil (Russia)
The above corporations are presented in the same order as they appear in Forbes listings. Shown within parentheses is the country where each conglomerate has its headquarters.
Searchable List of Crude Oil Exporting Countries in 2018
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Exporter | Crude Oil Exports (US$) | %World Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Saudi Arabia | $182,500,000,000 | 16.1% |
| 2. | Russia | $129,049,146,000 | 11.4% |
| 3. | Iraq | $91,718,674,000 | 8.1% |
| 4. | Canada | $66,915,582,000 | 5.9% |
| 5. | United Arab Emirates | $58,417,410,000 | 5.2% |
| 6. | Kuwait | $51,727,068,000 | 4.6% |
| 7. | Iran | $50,823,249,000 | 4.5% |
| 8. | United States | $48,261,572,000 | 4.3% |
| 9. | Nigeria | $43,559,567,000 | 3.8% |
| 10. | Kazakhstan | $37,796,202,000 | 3.3% |
| 11. | Angola | $36,539,448,000 | 3.2% |
| 12. | Norway | $33,293,393,000 | 2.9% |
| 13. | Libya | $26,699,939,000 | 2.4% |
| 14. | Mexico | $26,482,792,000 | 2.3% |
| 15. | Venezuela | $26,380,398,000 | 2.3% |
| 16. | Brazil | $25,130,987,000 | 2.2% |
| 17. | United Kingdom | $24,858,214,000 | 2.2% |
| 18. | Oman | $22,465,542,000 | 2.0% |
| 19. | Qatar | $21,008,057,000 | 1.9% |
| 20. | Algeria | $17,607,908,000 | 1.6% |
| 21. | Azerbaijan | $15,719,482,000 | 1.4% |
| 22. | Colombia | $13,671,260,000 | 1.2% |
| 23. | Malaysia | $9,433,968,000 | 0.8% |
| 24. | Ecuador | $7,853,414,000 | 0.7% |
| 25. | Congo | $7,748,553,000 | 0.7% |
| 26. | Australia | $5,919,178,000 | 0.5% |
| 27. | Ghana | $5,194,952,000 | 0.5% |
| 28. | Indonesia | $5,120,474,000 | 0.5% |
| 29. | Bahrain | $4,329,785,000 | 0.4% |
| 30. | Equatorial Guinea | $4,093,381,000 | 0.4% |
| 31. | Gabon | $4,038,464,000 | 0.4% |
| 32. | Brunei Darussalam | $2,669,586,000 | 0.2% |
| 33. | Vietnam | $2,444,466,000 | 0.2% |
| 34. | Egypt | $2,146,790,000 | 0.2% |
| 35. | Cameroon | $1,694,897,000 | 0.1% |
| 36. | South Sudan | $1,588,401,000 | 0.1% |
| 37. | Argentina | $1,474,856,000 | 0.1% |
| 38. | Chad | $1,460,243,000 | 0.1% |
| 39. | China | $1,270,422,000 | 0.1% |
| 40. | Denmark | $1,246,132,000 | 0.1% |
| 41. | Sudan | $1,079,769,000 | 0.1% |
| 42. | Belgium | $1,033,545,000 | 0.1% |
| 43. | Yemen | $969,267,000 | 0.1% |
| 44. | Thailand | $817,777,000 | 0.1% |
| 45. | Belarus | $809,895,000 | 0.1% |
| 46. | Spain | $767,948,000 | 0.1% |
| 47. | Papua New Guinea | $751,139,000 | 0.1% |
| 48. | Trinidad/Tobago | $736,882,000 | 0.1% |
| 49. | Ivory Coast | $704,428,000 | 0.1% |
| 50. | Tunisia | $671,738,000 | 0.06% |
| 51. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $441,897,000 | 0.04% |
| 52. | Mongolia | $391,988,000 | 0.03% |
| 53. | New Zealand | $341,155,000 | 0.03% |
| 54. | Italy | $314,129,000 | 0.03% |
| 55. | Pakistan | $262,067,000 | 0.02% |
| 56. | Liberia | $220,478,000 | 0.02% |
| 57. | Philippines | $202,677,000 | 0.02% |
| 58. | Guatemala | $145,354,000 | 0.01% |
| 59. | Togo | $142,174,000 | 0.01% |
| 60. | Peru | $138,874,000 | 0.01% |
| 61. | Poland | $126,189,000 | 0.01% |
| 62. | Netherlands | $119,557,000 | 0.01% |
| 63. | Bahamas | $106,622,000 | 0.01% |
| 64. | Hungary | $101,062,000 | 0.01% |
| 65. | Turkmenistan | $81,520,000 | 0.01% |
| 66. | Bolivia | $72,119,000 | 0.01% |
| 67. | Greece | $61,228,000 | 0.01% |
| 68. | Myanmar (Burma) | $59,495,000 | 0.01% |
| 69. | Singapore | $51,164,000 | 0.005% |
| 70. | Timor-Leste | $44,853,000 | 0.004% |
| 71. | Panama | $43,974,000 | 0.004% |
| 72. | Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba | $33,903,000 | 0.003% |
| 73. | Senegal | $25,096,000 | 0.002% |
| 74. | Germany | $24,398,000 | 0.002% |
| 75. | Lithuania | $24,394,000 | 0.002% |
| 76. | Saint Lucia | $20,118,000 | 0.002% |
| 77. | Kyrgyzstan | $17,258,000 | 0.002% |
| 78. | Belize | $12,324,000 | 0.001% |
| 79. | Barbados | $11,099,000 | 0.001% |
| 80. | Czech Republic | $10,931,000 | 0.001% |
| 81. | Romania | $7,474,000 | 0.001% |
| 82. | Latvia | $5,155,000 | 0.0005% |
| 83. | Tanzania | $3,847,000 | 0.0003% |
| 84. | Georgia | $3,363,000 | 0.0003% |
| 85. | Guinea | $2,995,000 | 0.0003% |
| 86. | Slovakia | $2,682,000 | 0.0002% |
| 87. | France | $2,429,000 | 0.0002% |
| 88. | Israel | $1,945,000 | 0.0002% |
| 89. | Namibia | $974,000 | 0.0001% |
| 90. | Estonia | $755,000 | 0.0001% |
| 91. | Uganda | $655,000 | 0.00006% |
| 92. | Bulgaria | $440,000 | 0.00004% |
| 93. | Serbia | $373,000 | 0.00003% |
| 94. | South Africa | $189,000 | 0.00002% |
| 95. | Slovenia | $112,000 | 0.00001% |
| 96. | Fiji | $77,000 | 0.00001% |
| 97. | Eswatini | $48,000 | 0.000004% |
| 98. | Moldova | $37,000 | 0.000003% |
| 99. | Sweden | $33,000 | 0.000003% |
| 100. | Lebanon | $33,000 | 0.000003% |
| 101. | Finland | $28,000 | 0.000002% |
| 102. | Croatia | $27,000 | 0.000002% |
| 103. | Switzerland | $18,000 | 0.000002% |
| 104. | Botswana | $10,000 | 0.000001% |
| 105. | Kenya | $7,000 | 0.000001% |
| 106. | Samoa | $6,000 | 0.000001% |
| 107. | New Caledonia | $5,000 | 0.0000004% |
| 108. | South Korea | $3,000 | 0.0000003% |
| 109. | Zambia | $3,000 | 0.0000003% |
| 110. | Ireland | $2,000 | 0.0000002% |
| 111. | Ethiopia | $1,000 | 0.0000001% |
| 112. | Niger | $1,000 | 0.0000001% |
| 113 | Morocco | $1,000 | 0.0000001% |
See also US Crude Oil Imports by Supplier Countries, Iron Ore Exports by Country, Crude Oil Imports by Country and Largest Oil and Gas Export Companies
Research Sources:
Forbes 2018 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 14, 2019
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 30, 2019
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on April 14, 2019
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 14, 2019
Wikipedia, Big Oil. Accessed on April 14, 2019
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