Globally exported crude oil totaled US$1.35 trillion for 2022.
That dollar amount results from a 43.8% increase from $938.8 billion worth of crude oil exports five years earlier during 2018.
Year over year, the value of the world’s exports of crude oil accelerated by 55.6% from $867.2 billion in 2021.
Crude oil ranks as the world’s most valuable exported product for 2022, surpassing the prior year’s leader which was exports of electronic integrated circuits and related parts. Crude petroleum oils represent 5.6% of the overall total for all exported commodities during 2022, up from 4.6% in 2021.
The top 5 exporters of crude oil in 2022 were Saudi Arabia, Canada, Russia, United States of America, then the United Arab Emirates. Combined, those 5 major crude oil sources supplied over two-fifths (43.8%) of global exports for crude petroleum oil.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for crude oil is 2709.
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2022.
- Saudi Arabia: US$224.8 billion (16.7% of exported crude oil)
- Canada: $120.5 billion (8.9%)
- Russia: $119.5 billion (8.9%)
- United States: $117 billion (8.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $112.7 billion (8.4%)
- Iraq: $82.3 billion (6.1%)
- Norway: $57.8 billion (4.3%)
- Kuwait: $54.3 billion (4%)
- Nigeria: $49.9 billion (3.7%)
- Brazil: $42.7 billion (3.2%)
- Angola: $37.4 billion (2.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $35.4 billion (2.6%)
- Oman: $33.2 billion (2.5%)
- Libya: $31.9 billion (2.4%)
- Mexico: $31.8 billion (2.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries sold 85.3% of globally exported crude oil in 2022.
Among these top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of crude oil were: Oman (up 77.8% from 2021), United States of America (up 68.9%), Canada (up 47%), Norway (up 40.9%), Brazil (up 39.5%) and Saudi Arabia (up 39%).
Posting the most modest year-over-year gain in their international sales of crude oil were exporters in Iraq (up 7% from 2021) and Russia (up 7.7%).
Please note that the published statistics for Saudi Arabia include estimates and independent calculations, due to constraints on source data from that jurisdiction.
Biggest Surpluses Trading Crude Oil
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for crude oil during 2022. 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.
- Russia: US$346.7 billion (net export surplus up 65% since 2021)
- Saudi Arabia: $265.1 billion (up 33.3%)
- Norway: $203.1 billion (up 99.3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $167.8 billion (down -7.1%)
- Canada: $135 billion (up 50.6%)
- Australia: $113.2 billion (up 71.7%)
- Qatar: $94.9 billion (up 29.5%)
- Iraq: $87.3 billion (up 15.5%)
- Kuwait: $69.6 billion (up 20.7%)
- Algeria: $57.7 billion (up 72.9%)
- United States of America: $55.9 billion (up 266.9%)
- Oman: $52.8 billion (up 125.8%)
- Angola: $43.4 billion (up 45.1%)
- Kazakhstan: $42.8 billion (up 28.6%)
- Azerbaijan: $34 billion (up 76.2%)
Reflecting its independence from imported crude oil, the Russian Federation generated the highest surplus in the international trade of crude petroleum oils in 2022. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Russia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Worst Deficits Trading Crude Oil
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for crude oil during 2022. 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$471 billion (net export deficit up 33.5% since 2021)
- Japan: -$238.1 billion (up 64.3%)
- South Korea: -$153.9 billion (up 57.8%)
- Germany: -$147.2 billion (up 74.4%)
- Italy: -$129.7 billion (up 126.5%)
- France: -$123.3 billion (up 128.8%)
- Türkiye: -$80.2 billion (up 90.1%)
- United Kingdom: -$79.8 billion (up 124.3%)
- Taiwan: -$60.8 billion (up 53%)
- Spain: -$59.2 billion (up 85.4%)
- Thailand: -$52.6 billion (up 66.2%)
- Singapore: -$39.6 billion (up 34.3%)
- Chile: -$27.2 billion (up 58.9%)
- Mexico: -$25.1 billion (up 62.1%)
- Philippines: -$24.5 billion (up 68%)
Three large Asian economies, mainland China, Japan and South Korea, incurred the highest amount of red ink trading crude oil on international markets in 2022. That negative cashflow highlights both countries’ strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category. The other side of the coin is that these deficits signal opportunities for crude oil-supplying countries that help satisfy their powerful demand, and also for entrepreneurs who develop alternative energy sources that can power industrial economies.
Crude Oil Exporting Companies
Based on the Forbes Global 2000 rankings, the following oil and gas companies are among the top 100 largest companies in the world.
- BP (United Kingdom)
- Chevron (United States)
- ConocoPhillips (United States)
- Eni (Italy)
- Exxon Mobil (United States)
- Gazprom (Russia)
- LukOil (Russia)
- Petrobras (Brazil)
- PetroChina (China)
- Rosneft (Russia)
- Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands)
- Sinopec-China Petroleum (China)
- Statoil (Norway)
- Total (France)
The above corporations are presented in the same order as they appear in Forbes listings. Shown within parentheses is the country where each conglomerate has its headquarters.
The 102 exporters in the database below were responsible for 100% of all crude oil shipped in 2022.
| Rank | Exporter | Crude Oil Exports (US$) | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Saudi Arabia | $224,795,271,000 | +39% |
| 2. | Canada | $120,502,814,000 | +47% |
| 3. | Russia | $119,530,010,000 | +7.7% |
| 4. | United States | $117,034,462,000 | +68.9% |
| 5. | United Arab Emirates | $112,723,309,000 | +13.8% |
| 6. | Iraq | $82,288,984,000 | +7% |
| 7. | Norway | $57,757,614,000 | +40.9% |
| 8. | Kuwait | $54,328,256,000 | +30.1% |
| 9. | Nigeria | $49,871,423,000 | +37.6% |
| 10. | Brazil | $42,688,099,000 | +39.5% |
| 11. | Angola | $37,400,459,000 | +34.5% |
| 12. | Kazakhstan | $35,367,741,000 | +13.8% |
| 13. | Oman | $33,227,075,000 | +77.8% |
| 14. | Libya | $31,890,426,000 | +10.2% |
| 15. | Mexico | $31,779,788,000 | +32.5% |
| 16. | Qatar | $23,395,784,000 | +89.3% |
| 17. | United Kingdom | $21,273,239,000 | +25.1% |
| 18. | Azerbaijan | $19,483,624,000 | +47.4% |
| 19. | Algeria | $17,466,958,000 | +46.4% |
| 20. | Colombia | $16,185,817,000 | +57.2% |
| 21. | Ecuador | $10,834,642,000 | +48.9% |
| 22. | Australia | $10,128,798,000 | +35.1% |
| 23. | Malaysia | $7,943,406,000 | +51.7% |
| 24. | Congo | $6,691,573,000 | +524.2% |
| 25. | Ghana | $5,591,254,000 | +39% |
| 26. | Gabon | $5,426,730,000 | +37.6% |
| 27. | Guyana | $4,275,707,000 | +45.9% |
| 28. | Chad | $3,674,463,000 | +79% |
| 29. | Equatorial Guinea | $3,495,618,000 | +11.6% |
| 30. | Egypt | $2,963,094,000 | +1.6% |
| 31. | Argentina | $2,887,659,000 | +56.8% |
| 32. | Trinidad/Tobago | $2,303,818,000 | +95.9% |
| 33. | Cameroon | $2,220,961,000 | +27% |
| 34. | Vietnam | $2,032,103,000 | +21.5% |
| 35. | Brunei Darussalam | $1,975,984,000 | -8.3% |
| 36. | Netherlands | $1,610,090,000 | +747.8% |
| 37. | Indonesia | $1,572,374,000 | -43.8% |
| 38. | China | $1,438,104,000 | +42.3% |
| 39. | Yemen | $1,090,135,000 | -10.1% |
| 40. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $1,061,246,000 | 0% |
| 41. | Belgium | $1,009,048,000 | +74% |
| 42. | Ivory Coast | $830,679,000 | +45.5% |
| 43. | Sudan | $712,831,000 | +54.4% |
| 44. | Papua New Guinea | $707,171,000 | -11.6% |
| 45. | Tunisia | $668,215,000 | -9.3% |
| 46. | New Zealand | $581,459,000 | +83.8% |
| 47. | Venezuela | $573,231,000 | +9470% |
| 48. | Spain | $570,696,000 | -6.8% |
| 49. | Iran | $565,409,000 | -97% |
| 50. | Thailand | $509,384,000 | +21.2% |
| 51. | Peru | $508,916,000 | +75.7% |
| 52. | Italy | $487,400,000 | +4.9% |
| 53. | Turkmenistan | $442,955,000 | -7.3% |
| 54. | South Sudan | $421,345,000 | +8.4% |
| 55. | Bahrain | $402,622,000 | 0% |
| 56. | Croatia | $391,327,000 | -56.8% |
| 57. | Denmark | $387,200,000 | +6.5% |
| 58. | Philippines | $323,548,000 | +49.6% |
| 59. | Albania | $318,268,000 | +40.9% |
| 60. | Pakistan | $256,408,000 | +49.1% |
| 61. | Mongolia | $243,492,000 | -10.9% |
| 62. | Timor-Leste | $226,068,000 | -26.6% |
| 63. | Poland | $112,223,000 | +19.1% |
| 64. | Ireland | $100,365,000 | +78.5% |
| 65. | Guatemala | $95,671,000 | +32.4% |
| 66. | Gibraltar | $92,661,000 | 0% |
| 67. | Hungary | $83,793,000 | -50.8% |
| 68. | Chile | $30,483,000 | +3,048,200% |
| 69. | Romania | $29,798,000 | +56% |
| 70. | Estonia | $28,126,000 | +42% |
| 71. | Lithuania | $17,242,000 | +61.4% |
| 72. | Kenya | $13,621,000 | +97,193% |
| 73. | Barbados | $13,355,000 | +123% |
| 74. | South Africa | $12,620,000 | -98.9% |
| 75. | Liberia | $9,006,000 | +101.7% |
| 76. | Greece | $6,839,000 | -71.5% |
| 77. | Cuba | $6,159,000 | -82.4% |
| 78. | Germany | $5,964,000 | -98% |
| 79. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $5,387,000 | -4.5% |
| 80. | Japan | $4,951,000 | +4,401% |
| 81. | France | $3,897,000 | -78% |
| 82. | Senegal | $2,483,000 | -87.5% |
| 83. | Ukraine | $2,412,000 | -91.1% |
| 84. | India | $2,294,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Latvia | $2,125,000 | -20.6% |
| 86. | Fiji | $2,059,000 | -25.4% |
| 87. | Slovakia | $1,515,000 | -38.1% |
| 88. | Panama | $1,287,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Belize | $1,173,000 | -72.7% |
| 90. | Moldova | $877,000 | -40.6% |
| 91. | Bolivia | $396,000 | -98% |
| 92. | Zambia | $393,000 | -20.3% |
| 93. | Sweden | $216,000 | -99.9% |
| 94. | Singapore | $171,000 | -99.9% |
| 95. | Slovenia | $46,000 | +21.1% |
| 96. | Czech Republic | $10,000 | +25% |
| 97. | South Korea | $9,000 | 0% |
| 98. | Switzerland | $2,000 | +100% |
| 99. | Jamaica | $1,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Finland | $1,000 | 0% |
| 101. | Andorra | $1,000 | 0% |
| 102 | Antigua/Barbuda | $1,000 | 0% |
Expanding the scope to include all crude oil exporters, the fastest gainers from 2021 to 2022 were Chile (up 3,048,200%), Kenya (up 97,193%), Venezuela (up 9,470%), Japan (up 4,401%), Netherlands (up 747.8%) and Congo (up 524.2%).
Year over year, the severest declines were posted by international suppliers in Singapore (down -99.9% from 2021), Sweden (also down -99.9%), South Africa (down -98.9%), Bolivia (down -98%), Germany (also down -98%), Iran (down -97%) then Ukraine (down -91.1%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
Note that an entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2021 data was unavailable.
Crude Oil Exports from OPEC Countries
In 2022, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was comprised of 13 nations united by common financial interests in exporting crude petroleum oil.
The 13 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
Collectively, the 13 OPEC countries exported US$627.5 billion worth of crude oil in 2022. That dollar total translates to 46.5% of all globally exported crude petroleum by value.
OPEC’s percentage share decreased from a 68.9% share in 2018 and fell from the 59% score one year earlier in 2021.
Focusing exclusively on exports from OPEC as an entity, the dollar value of crude oil exported from OPEC members accelerated by 22.7% compared to 2021. The most recent annual upswing contrasts with the -2.9% decline over the 5-year period starting in 2018.
See also US Crude Oil Imports by Supplier Countries, OPEC Countries Crude Oil Exports Sales Data, Crude Oil Imports by Country, Largest Oil and Gas Export Companies and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, The World Factbook. Accessed on July 12, 2023
Forbes 2022 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 12, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 12, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 12, 2023
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Member Countries. Accessed on July 12, 2023
Wikipedia, Big Oil. Accessed on July 12, 2023
