who sells the most oil in the world
List of countries by oil production The top three producers have in recent history been (alphabetically) Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Each of these countries experienced major production declines at different times in the past, but since 2014 all three have been producing near their peak rates of 9 to 11 million barrels per day.[2] Saudi Arabia and Russia also top the list of oil exporting countries, while Russia is not a member of OPEC. The monthly U.S. oil production reached 10.07 million b/d in November 2017, the highest monthly level of crude oil production in U.S. history.[3] In early 2018, the U.S. government forecast the country will become a net oil and gas exporter by 2022, the first time since 1953.[4]
North Sea oil Commercial extraction of oil on the shores of the North Sea dates back to 1851, when James Young retorted oil from torbanite (boghead coal, or oil shale) mined in the Midland Valley of Scotland.[1] Across the sea in Germany, oil was found in the Wietze field near Hanover in 1859, leading to the discovery of seventy more fields, mostly in Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs, producing a combined total of around 1340 mÂ³ (8,400 barrels) per day.[1]