Oil Reserves

Global proved oil reserves in 2009 rose by 0.7 billion barrels to 1,333.1 billion barrels, with an R/P ratio of 45.7 years. Increases in Brazil, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Indonesia outpaced declines in Mexico, Russia, Norway, and Vietnam. The 2008 figure was revised higher by 74.4 billion barrels, with an upward revision in Venezuela of 73 billion barrels accounting for a majority of the change.

OPEC production fell by 2.5 million b/d; Saudi Arabian output fell by 1.1 million b/d, the world’s largest volumetric decline. Production outside OPEC rose by 450,000b/d, led by an increase of 460,000b/d in the US, the largest increase in the world and the strongest US growth since 1970.

Crude oil production data includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and NGLs (natural gas liquids - the liquid content of natural gas where this is recovered separately). It excludes liquid fuels from other sources such as biomass and coal derivatives.

Reserves-to-production (R/P) ratios are available for the world and by region and feature in the Energy charting tool. R/P ratios represent the length of time that those remaining reserves would last if production were to continue at the previous year's rate. It is calculated by dividing remaining reserves at the end of the year by the production in that year.

World oil production tables are in both thousand barrels daily and million tonnes.

Global refining capacity in 2009 grew by 2.2% or 2 million b/d

Most of this increase was in China and India, allowing installed capacity in the non-OECD to overtake the OECD for the first time.