Oil-exporting countries. The largest oil exporters - list

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Many oil-producing countries have been able to develop their economies through the implementation of the main resource. But the dynamic growth of indicators would not have been possible if developing countries had not united.

Groups of oil-producing countries

Before finding out what organizations exist that regulate the production of crude oil and the conditions for its sale, it is necessary to understand which states are included in them. Thus, the main exporters of oil are those countries where it is produced. At the same time, the states that are world leaders produce more than a billion barrels annually.

Specialists from all countries are divided into several groups:

- OPEC members;

- USA and Canada;

- North Sea countries;

- other major states.

Global leadership belongs to the first group.

History of OPEC

The international organization that brings together the main oil exporters is often called a cartel. It was created by several countries to stabilize prices for the main raw material. This organization is called OPEC (English OPEC - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).

The main oil-exporting countries, which belonged to developing countries, united back in 1960. This historic event took place at the September conference in Baghdad. The initiative was supported by five countries: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Venezuela. This happened after the 7 largest multinational companies engaged in oil production, which were also called the "Seven Sisters", unilaterally lowered the purchase prices for oil. After all, depending on its value, they were forced to pay rent for the right to develop deposits and taxes.

But the newly independent states wanted to control oil production on their territory and monitor the exploitation of resources. And given the fact that in the 1960s the supply of this raw material exceeded demand, one of the goals of the creation of OPEC was to prevent further price declines.

Getting Started

After the creation of the international organization, oil-exporting countries began to join it. Thus, during the 1960s, the number of states included in OPEC doubled. Indonesia, Qatar, Libya, Algeria, United Arab Emirates joined the organization. At the same time, a declaration was adopted, fixing the oil policy. It said that countries have the right to exercise constant control over their resources and ensure that they are used in the interests of their development.

The main oil exporters in the world in the 1970s completely took overcontrol of the extraction of flammable liquid. It was from the activities of OPEC that the prices set for the raw resource began to depend. During this period, other oil exporting countries joined the organization. The list has expanded to 13 members, including Ecuador, Nigeria and Gabon.

Necessary Reforms

The 1980s were a rather difficult period. Indeed, at the beginning of this decade, prices rose unprecedentedly. But by 1986, they had fallen, and the price was set at about $10 per barrel. This was a significant blow, and all oil-exporting countries suffered. OPEC managed to stabilize the cost of raw materials. At the same time, a dialogue was established with states that are not members of this organization. Oil production quotas for OPEC members were also set. A pricing mechanism has been agreed within the cartels.

The Importance of OPEC

To understand the trends in the world oil market, it is important to know how OPEC's influence on the situation has changed. So, in the early 1970s, the participating countries controlled only 2% of the national production of this raw material. Already in 1973, the states achieved that 20% of oil production passed under their control, and by the 1980s, more than 86% of the entire resource production became subject to them. With this in mind, the oil exporting countries that joined OPEC have become an independent determining force in the market. Transnational corporations had already lost their strength by that time, because the states, if possible, nationalized the entire oil industry.

General trends

But not all oil exporting countries were part of a specialized international organization. So, for example, in the 1990s, the government of Gabon decided on the need to withdraw from OPEC, during the same period, Ecuador temporarily suspended participation in the affairs of the organization (from 1992 to 2007). Russia, which occupies a leading position in terms of production of this resource, became an observer in the cartel in 1998.

Currently, OPEC members collectively account for 40% of world oil production. At the same time, they own 80% of the proven reserves of this raw material. The Organization can change the required level of oil production in the participating countries, increasing or decreasing it at its discretion. At the same time, most of the states involved in the development of deposits of this resource are working at full capacity.

Main exporters

Now members of OPEC are 12 countries. Some states involved in the development of the resource base operate independently. For example, these are such major oil exporters as Russia and the USA. They are not subject to the influence of OPEC, the organization does not dictate the conditions for the production and sale of this raw material. But they are forced to come to terms with the global trends that are set by the member countries of the cartel. At the moment, Russia and the United States occupy a leading position in the world market along with Saudi Arabia. In terms of the production of flammable liquid, each state accounts for more than 10%.

But this is not all the main oil exporting countries. The top ten list also includes China, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Kuwait,UAE.

Now in more than 100 different states there are oil deposits, they are developing fields. But the volumes of extracted resources, of course, are incomparably small compared to those owned by the largest oil exporting countries.

Other organizations

OPEC is the most significant association of oil-producing states, but not the only one. For example, in the 1970s, the International Energy Agency was organized. 26 countries immediately became its members. The IEA does not regulate the activities of exporters, but of the main importers of raw materials. The task of this agency is to develop the mechanisms of interaction that are necessary in crisis situations. Thus, it was the strategies developed by him that made it possible to somewhat reduce the influence of OPEC on the market. The main recommendations of the IEA were that countries create oil reserves, develop optimal routes for the movement of raw materials in the event of an embargo, and take other necessary organizational measures. This contributed to the fact that not only the largest oil exporters can now dictate the conditions on the market.