Who is the Largest Crude Oil Producer in 2025?

Which country is the largest crude oil producer?

The United States is the largest crude oil producer in 2025, producing about 13.58 million barrels per day (mb/d). It is followed by Russia at 9.87 mb/d and Saudi Arabia at 9.51 mb/d, making these three countries the largest crude oil producers globally.

Top 10 crude oil exporting countries 2025:

• United States – 13.58 mb/d: The largest crude oil producer globally, leading exports with strong shale output and advanced extraction technology.
• Russia – 9.87 mb/d: A major exporter to Asia and Europe, maintaining high output despite geopolitical and sanction pressures.
• Saudi Arabia – 9.51 mb/d: OPEC leader with strong control over global oil supply and pricing through production adjustments.
• Canada – 4.94 mb/d: Key supplier to the U.S., driven by oil sands production and stable North American demand.
• Iraq – 4.39 mb/d: Rapidly growing exporter within OPEC, heavily reliant on crude oil for national revenue.
• China – 4.34 mb/d: Large producer but primarily domestic-focused, with limited export influence due to high internal consumption.
• Iran – 4.19 mb/d: Significant exporter despite sanctions, supplying discounted crude mainly to Asian markets.
• UAE – 3.82 mb/d: Strategic exporter with modern infrastructure, serving global markets through key shipping routes.
• Brazil – 3.75 mb/d: Emerging exporter driven by offshore pre-salt reserves, expanding its global oil market presence.
• Kuwait – 2.58 mb/d: Consistent OPEC exporter with stable production and strong ties to Asian import markets.

Top 1 crude oil producer: the United States

The United States reached a fourth consecutive annual production record as the top crude oil producer in 2025, with total oil supply rising 510 kb/d and crude output at approximately 13.1 mb/d, according to the IEA Oil 2025 report. Despite leading global production, domestic consumption absorbs the majority of output, limiting the net crude export position to around 2 mb/d.

Key export performance insights:

• Light tight oil (LTO) from the Permian Basin remained the primary export-available supply stream, forecast to reach 9.8 mb/d by 2030, though annual growth is slowing sharply
• US LTO has been a key crude stream into Asian markets, competing directly with Middle Eastern grades; however, as shale growth plateaus, this competitive edge is narrowing
• Middle East crude exports to the US fell to a 40-year low in 2024 at just 530 kb/d, reflecting OPEC+'s pivot toward Asian buyers
• Federal offshore output peaked at 1.9 mb/d by 2026 before retreating, adding limited export upside
• Over 400 kb/d of US refinery capacity closed in 2025 alone, with 2.6 mb/d shut since 2010, structurally tightening available export volumes

Top 2 crude oil producer: Russia

Russia remained the second-largest crude oil producer in 2025 at 9.87 mb/d, representing approximately 80% of Eurasia's total oil consumption base. The Eurasia region, led by Russia, held a substantial net crude export position of approximately 7.3 mb/d in 2024.

Key export performance insights:

• Eurasian crude exports are projected to fall by 270 kb/d from 2024 levels to 7 mb/d by 2030, driven primarily by stagnating Russian upstream output
• Sanctions have slowed equipment procurement, hindered financing for refinery modernisation, and introduced security risks including drone strikes on Russian facilities
• Russia pivoted crude flows toward Asia, with China and India absorbing the majority of redirected volumes as European demand declined
• Diesel, naphtha, and fuel oil remained Russia's dominant export streams, with the Eurasian region maintaining a combined crude and product export position of approximately 9 mb/d by 2030
• The risk of secondary sanctions on Russian crude and product exports remains a key downside scenario for volume and revenue outlook through the decade

Top 3 crude oil producer: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the 3rd largest crude oil producer and the key Middle East crude exports in 2025, with the region collectively exporting 16.1 mb/d — a volume equivalent to the combined exports of the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia, per the IEA Oil 2025 report. Saudi Arabia is the single largest contributor to Middle East net crude export growth through 2030.

Key export performance insights:

• Middle East net crude oil exports are forecast to grow by 1.8 mb/d by 2030, underpinned by medium and heavy crude production increases in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE
• Saudi Arabia's phase-out of oil use for power generation and desalination — replacing it with natural gas and renewables — is projected to free up 540 kb/d of crude for export by 2030
• Saudi Arabia alone accounts for 970 kb/d of Middle East capacity growth by end of decade, making it the single largest national contributor to regional export expansion
• OPEC+ began unwinding voluntary supply cuts of more than 2 mb/d from May 2025, resetting Saudi export volume trajectories
• Middle East crude exports to the US fell to a 40-year low of 530 kb/d in 2024, reflecting a deliberate pivot of Saudi and regional supplies toward Asian refining markets

Top 4 crude oil producer: Canada

Canada stands for the 4th largest crude oil producer with global crude production in 2025 at 4.94 mb/d, with its export growth story driven primarily by heavy crude and diluted bitumen (dilbit) expansion, according to the IEA Oil 2025 report. The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline has been a defining infrastructure event, redirecting Canadian volumes toward Asian markets.

Key export performance insights:

• Canadian heavy crude and dilbit production is set to rise by 470 kb/d through 2030, boosted by upstream expansions and improved takeaway capacity
• Up to 600 kb/d is being directed into Asian markets via the TMX pipeline, marking a structural shift away from US Gulf Coast dependence
• Canada hit a record production level of 5.0 mb/d in December 2025, reflecting the full ramp-up of TMX and upstream field expansions
• Canadian heavy sour grades — particularly Western Canada Select (WCS) — are increasingly competing with Middle Eastern grades in Asian refinery markets as shale-driven US LTO growth slows
• The overall OECD Americas net crude export position is expected to reach approximately 2 mb/d by 2030, with Canada's heavy crude gains partially offset by declines in Mexico and slower US LTO growth

Top 5 crude oil producer: Iraq

As the 5th largest crude oil producer, Iraq had global crude production in 2025 at 4.39 mb/d and is one of the key drivers of Middle East export growth through 2030, according to the IEA Oil 2025 report. Midstream infrastructure expansion is central to Iraq's ability to convert production capacity into actual export volumes.

Key export performance insights:

• Iraq's crude production capacity is forecast to increase by 560 kb/d to 5.4 mb/d by 2030, though this falls short of its own stated ambitions due to midstream constraints and limited export capacity from southern terminals
• A third subsea export pipeline with design capacity of 2.4 mb/d was approved by the Iraqi government in late 2024, targeting Basra port streamlining and alternative export route development
• A separate 685 km pipeline connecting southern fields to northern export routes was also approved, expanding Iraq's export infrastructure significantly
• Iraq has over 1.2 mb/d of potential capacity additions at various stages of development, reinforcing its role alongside Saudi Arabia and the UAE as a core Middle East export growth driver
• Iraq and Kazakhstan were among the OPEC+ members that overproduced by an average of 1.2 mb/d in recent years, creating compliance obligations that have tempered near-term export volume realisations

Top 6 crude oil producing country - China

At 4.34 mb/d, China is listed 6th among the largest crude oil producers. Unlike most others on this list, China is a net crude importer — domestic production covers only a portion of its vast refinery demand, making China the world's largest crude oil buyer rather than a meaningful exporter, per the IEA Oil 2025 report.

Key export performance insights:

• China's domestic crude production of 4.34 mb/d is substantially outpaced by its refinery intake needs, positioning it as a demand centre rather than an export origin in global crude trade flows
• Chinese refined product exports are assumed to remain at close to current levels of approximately 40 Mt per annum through 2030, reflecting the government's balance between supporting refinery activity and managing carbon emission targets
• China absorbed the majority of redirected crude volumes from Russia, Iran, and Brazil — making it the single most consequential destination market shaping global crude export flows in 2025
• Iran directed nearly all of its 1.6 mb/d in crude exports to Chinese independent "teapot" refineries in 2024, while Brazil directed over 50% of its crude export value to China
• Chinese oil demand is on track to peak this decade, following surging EV adoption and structural shifts in its economy — a trend that will have downstream implications for crude import volumes and the global export market beyond 2027

Top 7 crude oil producing country - Iran

Iran reached its highest total oil production level since 2017 in 2024, rising 420 kb/d year-on-year to 4.7 mb/d, making it the second-largest source of global supply growth after the United States for two consecutive years. However, its crude export market remains heavily constrained by sanctions.

Key export performance insights:

• Crude exports averaged 1.6 mb/d in 2024, with nearly all volumes flowing to Chinese independent "teapot" refineries — making Iran's export market almost entirely dependent on a single buyer country
• Total oil production of 4.7 mb/d included 1.3 mb/d of condensates and NGLs, with crude representing the core exportable stream
• Swift enforcement of US sanctions in 2018 had previously slashed Iranian crude exports from 2.2 mb/d to less than 500 kb/d — the current sanctions cycle is intensifying across all aspects of Iran's supply chain
• Recent hesitancy from Chinese buyers reduced crude imports from Iran by approximately 30% in May 2025 compared to the prior year average, signalling demand-side fragility in Iran's only active export market
• Iran's slim spare capacity and reliance on domestic firms to stem field declines — with over USD 33 billion in contracts awarded locally since early 2024 — underscores the structural limitations on future export growth

Top 8 crude oil producing country - UAE

The UAE is one of the three core drivers of Middle East crude export growth through 2030, alongside Saudi Arabia and Iraq. With the largest crude oil capacity expansion of any single country globally at +720 kb/d, the UAE is repositioning as a long-term heavyweight in global crude export markets.

Key export performance insights:

• The UAE holds the largest crude capacity addition of any country in the IEA's forecast period, adding 720 kb/d to reach significantly higher output levels by 2030
• UAE production underpins Middle East net crude oil export growth of 1.8 mb/d by 2030, alongside Saudi Arabia and Iraq's medium and heavy crude increases
• Major refining projects, including Duqm and Jazan — both ramping up to full utilisation — are expanding the UAE's role as a refined product export hub while processing heavier and sourer crude grades
• The Middle East's total net crude and product exports are projected to reach 23.7 mb/d by 2030, a 2.7 mb/d increase, with the UAE a key contributor on both the crude and product side
• The UAE is part of OPEC+'s unwinding of 2+ mb/d in voluntary cuts from May 2025, adding near-term export volume back into global markets alongside Saudi Arabia

Top 9 crude oil producing country - Brazil

Brazil ranked ninth in global crude production in 2025 at 3.75 mb/d, driven by offshore deep-water FPSO expansions that pushed monthly output above 4.0 mb/d in October 2025, according to the IEA Oil 2025 report. Brazil's export growth is structural, not cyclical — driven by upstream investment rather than price movements.

Key export performance insights:

• Central and South America's net crude exports are forecast to grow by nearly 800 kb/d to 4 mb/d by 2030 — the second-largest regional increase globally after the Middle East — with Brazil and Guyana as the primary drivers
• Exports between January and September 2025 reached 79.8 million tonnes, up significantly year-on-year, supported by new offshore FPSOs coming online
• Brazilian and Guyanese crude exports are increasingly heading east, with China absorbing over 50% of Brazil's crude export value and European hubs including Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain providing stable secondary demand
• Brazil's RNEST refinery Train 2 expansion of 115 kb/d is scheduled for Q2 2029, which will absorb more domestic crude into local refining — moderating the exportable surplus over the longer term
• The widening disconnect between upstream supply growth and limited domestic refining investment means Brazil's medium and heavy sweet crudes will remain predominantly export-oriented through the decade

Top 10 crude oil producing country - Kuwait

Kuwait is the 10th largest crude oil producer with global crude production in 2025 at 2.58 mb/d and is a core OPEC+ member within the Middle East export bloc, contributing to the region's dominant 16.1 mb/d crude export position in 2024, according to the IEA Oil 2025 report.

Key export performance insights:

• Kuwait is projected to deliver a 150 kb/d increase in capacity to nearly 3.1 mb/d by 2030, supporting incremental growth in Middle East crude export volumes
• As part of the broader Middle East bloc, Kuwait's exports are oriented primarily toward Asian refining markets — a trade flow direction reinforced by OPEC+'s deliberate pivot away from Atlantic Basin buyers in recent years
• Middle East crude exports to the US fell to a 40-year low of 530 kb/d in 2024, reflecting the regional strategy — including Kuwait — to prioritise Asian demand over USGC supply relationships
• Kuwait participates in the OPEC+ unwinding of voluntary cuts from May 2025, adding incremental barrels back into global markets alongside other Gulf producers
• The broader Middle East export bloc, of which Kuwait is a member, is forecast to reach 17.9 mb/d in crude exports by 2030, equivalent to the combined total of all other exporting regions combined.

Conclusion

The top 10 largest crude oil producers in 2025 produced a combined output dominated by three players — the US at 13.58 mb/d, Russia at 9.87 mb/d, and Saudi Arabia at 9.51 mb/d. Yet production rank and export performance tell different stories. Trade routes are shifting, buyer concentrations are deepening, and infrastructure constraints are capping what producers can actually deliver to market.