- The top 10 oil producing countries pumped more than 71 million barrels per day combined in 2025, led by the United States at a record 13.6 million bpd
- The U.S. Permian Basin alone produced 6.6 million bpd, driving sustained Gulf Coast tank terminal expansion
- Iraq exports roughly 93% of its crude through Basra terminals, making it acutely exposed to Strait of Hormuz disruptions
- The UAE exited OPEC in May 2026 and raised output to 4.1 million bpd by June, adding pressure on Fujairah storage and export capacity
- Saudi Arabia’s spare production capacity of roughly 9.6 million bpd functions as a de facto global storage buffer
Production rankings among oil producing countries tell only half the story for terminal operators. Where that crude gets stored, blended and loaded onto tankers matters just as much as how much comes out of the ground, and 2025’s rankings point to specific infrastructure pressure points from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Energy Information Administration’s most recent country-level data, current as of 2025, shows a top 10 responsible for the large majority of global crude supply. Each entry below looks at what that production level means for storage capacity, export terminals and ullage demand heading into 2026.
How We Ranked the Top 10 Oil Producing Countries
Ranking follows the EIA’s 2025 crude oil and lease-condensate production data by country, the same methodology used across most industry benchmarking. Storage and infrastructure context for each country is layered on separately, drawing on terminal capacity data, export chokepoint exposure and recent 2026 developments.
10. Kuwait — Middle East
Kuwait produced approximately 2.6 million bpd in 2025 against reserves of 101.5 billion barrels, a reserves-to-production ratio implying roughly a century of current output. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation controls the entire chain from field to export terminal, meaning any storage expansion decision is a single-operator call rather than a competitive build-out.
9. Brazil — South America
Brazil’s 3.8 million bpd came largely from deepwater pre-salt fields, with Petrobras’ Búzios field alone hitting a record 1.1 million bpd in June 2026. Offshore production at this scale depends on FPSO and FSO storage capacity rather than onshore tank farms, a distinction covered in OGSN’s ranking of the world’s leading FSO operators.
8. United Arab Emirates — Middle East
The UAE matched Brazil at 3.8 million bpd in 2025 but entered 2026 in a markedly different posture, formally exiting OPEC in May and pushing output to a record 4.1 million bpd by June. That volume increase, run outside quota constraints, adds direct pressure on Fujairah’s storage and export infrastructure as the country positions itself as a flexible Asian-market supplier.
7. Iran — Middle East
Iran produced 4.1 million bpd in 2025, well below its 1970s peak of more than 6 million bpd, constrained by sanctions and limited foreign investment. Sanctioned barrels move through a shadow fleet reliant on ship-to-ship transfers and floating storage rather than direct terminal loading, a workaround that keeps tanker-based ullage demand structurally elevated.
6. China — Asia
China produced 4.3 million bpd domestically in 2025, a record for the country, yet still imported approximately 11.55 million bpd in the same year. That import dependence has driven sustained strategic reserve expansion, a pattern also visible in OGSN’s coverage of strategic petroleum reserve trends among major importing nations.
5. Iraq — Middle East
Iraq’s 4.4 million bpd sits on 145 billion barrels of reserves, but roughly 93% of exports move through terminals near Basra on the Persian Gulf. When Strait of Hormuz traffic was disrupted in 2026, storage tanks filled quickly and producers were forced to shut in output, a squeeze detailed in OGSN’s analysis of the Hormuz crisis and floating storage buildup. Iraq’s single-corridor export dependence makes it one of the most storage-constrained producers on this list.
4. Canada — North America
Canada produced 5 million bpd in 2025, rising to 5.35 million under the broader Canadian regulatory measure, with Alberta’s oil sands supplying nearly 84% of the total. Oil sands projects run on multi-decade production profiles with low decline rates, supporting long-horizon tank farm investment rather than the faster-cycling storage needs typical of shale basins.
3. Saudi Arabia — Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s output rose to approximately 9.6 million bpd in 2025 as OPEC+ unwound voluntary cuts, backed by Saudi Aramco’s more than 260 billion barrels of proven reserves. The kingdom’s spare production capacity, detailed in OGSN’s Saudi Aramco company profile, functions as a global storage buffer in its own right, letting Riyadh add or withhold barrels faster than any other producer.
2. Russia — Europe/Asia
Russia held second place at roughly 9.9 million bpd in 2025 despite sanctions and the ongoing war in Ukraine, redirecting the bulk of its crude trade toward Asia. In June 2026, China purchased half of Russia’s crude exports and India bought more than a third, a shift sustained partly through floating storage and a sanctioned shadow tanker fleet operating outside conventional terminal infrastructure.
1. United States — North America
The U.S. produced a record 13.6 million bpd in 2025, roughly 40% more than Russia or Saudi Arabia, with monthly output reaching 13.93 million bpd in April. The Permian Basin drove the surge, producing around 6.6 million bpd and accounting for nearly half of total U.S. crude output, detailed further in OGSN’s coverage of the record 2025 production milestone.
That volume has translated directly into terminal investment along the Gulf Coast tank terminal buildout, where storage capacity has expanded in step with Permian output and rising export volumes of crude, gasoline and diesel.
The Future of Oil Producing Countries: What to Watch in 2026
Watch three storage-relevant swing factors through the rest of 2026: UAE and Saudi output decisions outside formal OPEC+ constraints, continued Hormuz-linked floating storage accumulation tied to Iraqi and Iranian export exposure, and further U.S. Gulf Coast terminal capacity additions tracking Permian growth. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, non-OECD demand growth is expected to keep global oil consumption rising through 2030, sustaining pressure on storage and export infrastructure across all 10 producers on this list.
Which country produces the most oil in 2026?
The United States remains the top producer, having pumped a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025, driven largely by Permian Basin output.
How is this list ranked?
Ranking follows the EIA’s 2025 country-level crude oil and lease-condensate production data, the standard benchmark used across the industry.
Which oil producing country is most exposed to storage disruption?
Iraq, which routes roughly 93% of its crude exports through Basra terminals on the Persian Gulf, making it acutely vulnerable to Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
Why did the UAE’s OPEC exit matter for storage infrastructure?
Leaving OPEC in May 2026 let the UAE raise output to a record 4.1 million bpd by June without quota constraints, adding direct pressure on Fujairah’s storage and export capacity.
What could change these rankings in 2026?
Further U.S. Gulf Coast terminal capacity additions, Saudi and UAE output decisions, and continued floating storage accumulation tied to Hormuz risk are the main swing factors to watch.