Oil And Gas Industry Statistics [2022]

Research Summary. The oil and gas industry is a huge player in the world’s economy, and although it’s often controversial, there is no denying the impact it makes on our daily lives (and wallets).Here are some statistics about the oil and gas industry:

• In 2020, the world produced 4.165 billion tonnes (metric tons) of oil.

• The global demand for crude oil is 96.5 million barrels per day.

• Worldwide oil consumption decreased by 9.1% from 2019 to 2020.

• The annual revenue of the global oil and gas exploration and production industry is $5 trillion.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Production | Trends and Projections | Consumption | U.S.

Oil And Gas Industry Statistics by Production

• Each day, the world produces 95.57 million barrels of oil.

  This was the rate for 2021, and in 2022, it’s estimated that this will reach 99.89 million barrels per day.

• The U.S. produces the most oil of any country, producing 744.7 million metric tons in 2020.

  Here are the top ten countries for oil production as of 2020:

  Country	Amount of Oil Produced
  United States	744.7 million metric tons
  Russia	512.8 million metric tons
  Saudi Arabia	500.7 million metric tons
  Canada	253.3 million metric tons
  Iraq	202 million metric tons
  China	195 million metric tons
  United Arab Emirates	165.6 million metric tons
  Brazil	159.2 million metric tons
  Iran	142.7 million metric tons
  Kuwait	130.1 million metric tons

• U.S. company ExxonMobil is the largest oil and gas company in the world, with a market capitalization of $366.83 billion.

  Here are the top five oil and gas companies in the world by market capitalization:

  Company	Country	Market Capitalization
  ExxonMobil	U.S.	$366.83 billion
  Chevron	U.S.	$337.31 billion
  Reliance Industries	India	$226.85 billion
  Royal Dutch Shell	UK	$213.64 billion
  PetroChina	China	$151.2 billion

Oil And Gas Industry Trends and Projections

• In 2020, the world’s crude oil demand reached 91 million barrels per day.

  This was the lowest amount of demand since 2012, but it has quickly increased as COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began to lift during 2021 and into 2022.

  Here is the past global daily crude oil demand from 2006 and the projected demand through 2026:

  Year	Worldwide Daily Crude Oil Demand
  2006	85.3 million barrels per day
  2007	86.3 million barrels per day
  2008	85.8 million barrels per day
  2009	84.3 million barrels per day
  2010	86.4 million barrels per day
  2011	89 million barrels per day
  2012	89.8 million barrels per day
  2013	91.8 million barrels per day
  2014	92.7 million barrels per day
  2015	94.9 million barrels per day
  2016	96.2 million barrels per day
  2017	97.9 million barrels per day
  2018	99.3 million barrels per day
  2019	99.7 million barrels per day
  2020	91 million barrels per day
  2021	96.5 million barrels per day
  2022	99.4 million barrels per day
  2023	101.2 million barrels per day
  2024	102.3 million barrels per day
  2025	103.2 million barrels per day
  2026	104.1 million barrels per day

• In 2021, the world discovered the equivalent of 4.7 billion barrels of oil in crude oil and natural gas.

  This is significantly lower than 2020’s total of 12.5 billion barrels. Here is the breakdown of how much crude oil and natural gas has been discovered around the world each year from 2015 to 2021:

  Year	Crude Oil and Natural Gas Discoveries in Barrels of Oil Equivalent
  2015	20.3 billion barrels
  2016	7.9 billion barrels
  2017	12.1 billion barrels
  2018	9.9 billion barrels
  2019	15.8 billion barrels
  2020	12.5 billion barrels
  2021	4.7 billion barrels

• In 2012, the average annual price of crude oil was $111.63 per barrel.

  This is the Brent price, which is the top-rated price benchmark for crude oils in the Atlantic basin. Here is how this price has changed each year from 2012 to 2021:

  Year	Average Annual Brent Crude Oil Price
  2012	$111.63
  2013	$108.56
  2014	$98.97
  2015	$52.32
  2016	$43.67
  2017	$54.25
  2018	$71.34
  2019	$64.30
  2020	$41.96
  2021	$70.68

Oil And Gas Industry Statistics by Consumption

• The U.S. consumes 17.178 million barrels of oil per day.

  This makes the U.S. the leading country as far as oil consumption goes, followed by China, which consumes 14.225 million barrels per day, and India, which consumes 4.669 million barrels per day.

• Road transportation accounts for 48.6% of oil consumption.

  In addition, aviation accounts for 4.4%, although this includes both transportation and shipping aviation.

  These percentages account for oil usage within the OECD – the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – which has 38 member countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain.

• In 2021, the world consumed 97.39 million barrels of oil a day.

  In 2022, it’s estimated that the world will consume 99.61 million barrels per day, and by 2023, it’s estimated that consumption will reach 101.55 million barrels per day.

U.S. Oil And Gas Industry Statistics

• The U.S. gas and oil industry earned $110.7 billion in revenue in 2020.

• There are 67,901 oil drilling, and gas extraction businesses in the U.S.

• 218,966 Americans work in the U.S. oil drilling and gas extraction industry.

• The U.S. oil and gas industry as a whole supports 10.3 million jobs.

• The market size of the U.S. oil drilling and gas extraction industry is $463.8 billion.

Oil And Gas Industry Statistics FAQ

1. What are the current trends in the oil and gas industry?

   The current trends in the oil and gas industry are that both demand and prices are increasing.

   For at least the last ten years, the global demand for crude oil and natural gas had increased every year – except in 2020, when demand dropped by over eight million barrels per day since people weren’t traveling as much during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

   (Oil demand was at just 91 million barrels a day in 2020, as opposed to 2019’s 99.7 million barrels per day.)

   In 2021, the demand increased to 96.5 million barrels per day, which still isn’t quite up to 2019 levels. This number is projected to continue to rise, though, reaching 104.1 million barrels a day by 2026.

   Demand isn’t the only thing that’s increasing, however. Prices have been going up since 2020 as well, due in part to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

   In 2019, oil cost an average of $64.30 per barrel, and in 2021, it cost an average of $70.68 a barrel. This jump is even more dramatic from 2020’s average price of $41.96 per barrel.

2. Is the oil and gas industry on a decline?

   No, the oil and gas industry isn’t on a decline. While global demand for crude oil dropped to 91 million barrels per day in 2020 from 99.7 million barrels per day in 2019, demand has increased since then and is expected to continue to do so.

   In 2021, demand reached 96.5 million barrels per day, and by 2026, experts predict it will reach 104.1 million barrels per day.

   At the same time, however, global crude oil and natural gas discoveries have declined in recent years, hitting the equivalent of 4.7 billion barrels of oil in 2021, down from the 12.5 billion barrels discovered in 2020.

   It isn’t unusual for this to ebb and flow, as each year since 2015 has seen alternating inclines and declines in discoveries. However, 2021 marked the second year of a decline.

3. How big is the oil and gas industry?

   The market value of the oil and gas industry is $5 trillion. This is the value of the global oil and gas exploration and production industry, so it accounts for everything from efforts to find crude oil and natural gas to the refinement, transportation, and sale of those materials.

   In the U.S., the oil and gas industry earned $110.7 billion in revenue in 2020, and it supports 10.3 million jobs. The U.S.’s oil drilling and gas extraction industry alone employs 218,966 people and contributes $463.8 billion to the economy.

4. Is oil and gas the biggest industry in the world?

   No, oil and gas isn’t the biggest industry in the world. The biggest industry in the world is financial services, with a market value of $22.5 trillion. The oil and gas industry is actually the eighth-largest industry in the world, with a market value of $4.6 trillion. This makes up 3.8% of the global GDP, which is still not insignificant.

   Between the number one financial services industry and the number eight oil and gas industry are (in descending order) the construction, commercial real estate, e-commerce, life and health insurance, information technology, and food industries.

   Automobile manufacturing and telecommunication both fall beneath the oil and gas industry on the list of ten largest global industries with market values of $3 trillion and $1.8 trillion, respectively.

5. How much profit does the oil and gas industry make?

   The oil and gas industry has an average profit margin of 4.7%. This means that about 4.7% of the money the industry brings in is considered profit and doesn’t go toward paying for the company’s costs.

   However, this average isn’t necessarily reflective of the dramatic ups and downs that oil and gas production companies’ profits saw in 2021. At the beginning of 2021, these companies were seeing profit margins of -22%, and at the end of 2021, as gas prices soared in the U.S., oil and gas companies saw profit margins of 31.3%.

   This is controversial because many people believe that companies should be using these increased profits to lower prices, but instead, many of them are focusing on strengthening their companies by paying dividends to their investors or buying back shares of their companies.

6. How much oil is consumed each day?

   97.39 million barrels of oil are consumed each day. This accounts for global oil consumption, and it’s estimated that this will increase, hitting 99.61 million barrels per day in 2022 and 101.55 million barrels per day in 2023.

   The U.S. alone consumes 17.178 million barrels of oil every day, and it’s the largest consumer of oil in the world. China comes close behind, however, consuming 14.225 million barrels per day.

   48.6% of this oil goes to road transportation, by far the largest share of any use for oil.

Conclusion

The oil and gas industry is massive, to say the least, as it has to meet the world’s demand for 96.5 million barrels of crude oil per day. As a result of this, the global industry is worth $5 trillion, and in 2020, it produced 4.165 billion metric tons of oil.

2020 was an interesting year for the oil and gas industry, as COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns shut down both travel and daily commutes – both of which are significant users of oil. As a result of this, demand for oil around the world decreased by 9.1% from 2019 to 2020, shrinking from 99.7 million barrels a day to 91 million barrels a day.

In 2021, the demand for oil increased again, reaching 96.5 million barrels per day, and it’s expected to continue to grow, reaching an estimated 104.1 million barrels per day by 2026.

References

1. BP. “Statistical Review of World Energy.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

2. IBISWorld. “Global Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Industry – Market Research Report.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

3. EIA. “Short-Term Energy Outlook.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

4. Statista. “Leading Countries Based on Oil Production in 2020.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

5. Statista. “Leading Oil and Gas Companies Worldwide Based on Market Capitalization as of April 2022.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

6. Statista. “Daily Demand for Crude Oil Worldwide From 2006 to 2020, with a Forecast Until 2026.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

7. Statista. “Volume of Crude Oil and Natural Gas Discoveries Worldwide From 2015 to 2021.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

8. Statista. “Average Annual Brent Crude Oil Price From 1976 to 2022.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

9. Statista. “Leading Countries by Oil Consumption Worldwide in 2020.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

10. Statista. “Distribution of Oil Demand in the OECD in 2020, by Sector.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

11. Statista. “Oil and Gas Industry Revenue in the United States From 2010 to 2020.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

12. IBISWorld. “Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction in the U.S. – Number of Businesses 2002-2028.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

13. IBISWorld. “Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction in the U.S. – Employment Statistics 2002-2028.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

14. API. “Oil and Natural Gas Contribution to U.S. Economy Fact Sheet.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

15. IBISWorld. “Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction in the U.S. – Market Size 2002-2028.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

16. Insider Monkey. “10 Biggest Industries in the World in 2021.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

17. Insider Monkey. “5 Biggest Industries in the World in 2021.” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

18. Investopedia. “What Is the Average Profit Margin for a Company in the Oil and Gas Drilling Sector?” Accessed on May 12, 2022.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.