GCC Countries Achieve Top Ranking In Global Crude Oil Production And Reserves For 2023

The GCC countries have achieved top positions globally in energy metrics, leading in crude oil production, reserves, and exports, as well as natural gas reserves. They are second in natural gas exports and third in marketed natural gas production, according to GCC-Stat data. In 2023, the region produced approximately 17 million barrels of crude oil daily, contributing 23.2% to global output despite a 6.8% drop from 2022.

Crude oil reserves in the GCC reached about 511.9 billion barrels in 2023, making up 32.6% of the world's total reserves. This figure reflects an average annual growth rate of 0.3% from 2014 to 2023. The region's crude oil exports were around 12.4 million barrels per day, accounting for 28.2% of global exports, although there was an 8.2% decline compared to the previous year.

In terms of natural gas, the GCC had reserves of approximately 44.195 billion cubic meters in 2023, representing 21.4% of global reserves with a slight increase of 0.2% from the previous year. Natural gas exports totaled about 180.9 billion cubic meters, which is 13.1% of the global total, showing a steady annual growth rate of 2.5% since 2014.

The production of marketed natural gas in the GCC reached around 464.2 billion cubic meters in 2023, accounting for 10.8% of worldwide production and marking a rise of 1.4% over figures from the previous year.

Oil derivatives exports from the GCC amounted to approximately 1518.6 million barrels in 2023, which is about 13.4% of global exports and represents a growth of 7.1% compared to the previous year’s data.

Renewable energy capacity in the GCC saw significant growth, reaching about 10,742 megawatts in 2023—a substantial increase of 74.7% over the previous year’s figures due to policies promoting renewable over fossil fuels.

The energy generated by these renewable stations was around 14,403 gigawatt-hours in that year, reflecting a rise of 72.4%. Electricity production across the GCC was approximately 794.9 thousand gigawatt-hours with a growth rate averaging at about 4.7% from 2019 to 2023.

Consumption stood at roughly 732.5 gigawatt-hours in that same period with an increase of about 1.3%, indicating a steady demand for electricity within these nations.

Gasoline consumption within the GCC was recorded at about 336.6 million barrels for the year while diesel consumption reached nearly299.7 million barrels.

The highest production among petroleum derivatives was seen with gas oil/diesel at around660.4 million barrels followed by gasoline at336.2 million barrels and kerosene/jet fuel at319.4 million barrels.

Other derivatives like fuel oil and naphtha had outputs measuring263.1 and221.6 million barrels respectively while petroleum gases recorded103.3 million barrels produced during this period.

With inputs from WAM