GCC countries ranked first in crude oil production, crude oil reserves, crude oil exports and natural gas reserves, according to data issued by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat).
The GCC-Stat data indicates that the GCC states produced about 17 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2023, accounting for 23.2 per cent of the total global crude oil production. This was despite a 6.8 per cent decrease in crude oil production in 2023 compared to 2022.
Additionally, the GCC countries ranked second worldwide in natural gas exports and third in marketed natural gas production.
The GCC’s crude oil reserves in 2023 reached about 511.9 billion barrels, which accounted for 32.6 per cent of the world total, recording an average annual growth rate of 0.3 per cent from 2014 to 2023.
The region exported about 12.4 mbpd in 2023, representing 28.2 per cent of the total global exports, despite a decrease in exports in 2023 by 8.2 per cent compared to 2022.
The GCC ranked second in oil derivatives exports, which reached 1,518.6 million barrels, accounting for 13.4 per cent of the global total and an increase of 7.1 per cent compared to 2022.
According to GCC-Stat, the gas oil/diesel production recorded the highest rate among petroleum derivatives in 2023, with a quantity of 660.4 million barrels, followed by gasoline with 336.2 million barrels, then kerosene and jet fuel with 319.4 million barrels. Fuel oil, naphtha and petroleum gases recorded production of 263.1, 221.6 and 103.3 million barrels, respectively.
Gasoline consumption in the GCC in 2023 logged about 336.6 million barrels, while gas oil/diesel consumption reached 299.7 million barrels. The rest of the derivatives witnessed varying quantities between 34.8 and 268.3 million barrels.
With regard to natural gas, the GCC’s reserves in 2023 reached about 44.195 billion cu m, which represent 21.4 per cent of the total global reserves of natural gas, with an increase in reserves of 0.2 per cent compared to the figures recorded in 2022.
The GCC’s natural gas exports in 2023 logged about 180.9 billion cu m, which accounted for 13.1 per cent of the total global natural gas exports, with an average annual growth rate in exports of 2.5 per cent during the period from 2014 to 2023.
