If you ask which country has the largest oil reserves in the world, friends who often watch the news know that it is Venezuela. Indeed, the world's proven oil reserves are 1,733.9 billion barrels, and Venezuela accounts for 33.8 billion barrels, without any doubt. However, due to some factors, Venezuela has been sanctioned by the US economy, and now it has been reduced to importing oil itself. Then, do you know which country produces the most oil in the world now? Many people will think it is Saudi Arabia, because its proven reserves are 297.6 billion barrels, ranking second in the world, and the local tyrants in the Middle East are rich, not for nothing, or Russia or even Iraq? That's all wet. Now the world's number one oil producer is the United States.

according to the us energy information administration (EIA) statistical report, in 22, the average daily oil production of the United States was about 11.3 million barrels, ranking first in the world, followed by Russia, with an average daily oil production of 1.27 million barrels, and Saudi Arabia, with an average daily oil production of 9.2 million barrels. Russia and Saudi Arabia requested to reduce their oil production according to the agreement reached at the meeting of ministerial supervisory committees of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries in December 219, but the United States was affected by the epidemic. In 219, the average daily output of American oil was 12.2 million barrels, ranking first in the world, followed by Russia with an average daily output of 11.25 million barrels and Saudi Arabia with an average daily output of 9.81 million barrels. In 219, the United States changed from a net importer of crude oil and its products to a net exporter.

in terms of exports, in 22, the United States exported 3.1 million barrels a day, ranking fourth in the world. Saudi Arabia exported 6.6 million barrels a day, Russia exported 4.7 million barrels a day, and Iraq exported 3.4 million barrels a day. In fact, in 218, the average daily output of the United States was 1.9 million barrels, which was already the world's largest oil producer, and the average daily export volume reached 2 million barrels. However, the United States was the world's largest oil consumer, and compared with the import volume, it was still a net oil importer. It was not until 219 that it exported 2.98 million barrels a day that it was a net exporter. On the one hand, the popularization of new energy vehicles has accelerated, and the sales of new energy vehicles such as Tesla have soared. In 219 alone, 1,589.25 million vehicles were sold. The most important thing is that the output of shale oil has grown steadily.

With the emergence of automobiles, the power mode of ships changed, and airplanes appeared, all kinds of machinery and equipment began to use petroleum products with higher thermal efficiency and convenience. The United States was an important oil exporter in the world in the 192s-4s, and the Rockefeller family rose at that time. Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, was a city that prospered due to oil development. The United States was an important oil exporter because of the low overall demand of automobile and chemical industry at that time. Before the Pearl Harbor incident broke out, the United States stopped exporting oil to Japan, forcing it to sneak attack Pearl Harbor and capture Southeast Asia and Oceania. A big reason was to seize strategic materials oil and rubber.

with the gradual decline of oil production, the gradual development of industry, the continuous increase of automobile ownership and the leap-forward increase of oil and its products consumption in the western United States in the 194s, the United States has gradually become the most important crude oil importer in the world, with an average daily import volume of 12 million barrels at its peak. Most of its imports depend on the Middle East with shallow oil layers and low oil production costs. In order to ensure its energy security, the United States has established a large number of military bases in the Middle East and has always maintained its strategic presence in the Middle East.

according to the statistics of the energy department of the United States, the proven oil reserves of the United States are 68.9 billion barrels, ranking ninth in the world, including shale oil reserves of 46.3 billion barrels. There are four major shale areas, namely Permian Basin and EagleFord in Texas and New Mexico, BakkenShale in North Dakota, and MarcellusShale in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. However, shale oil is deeply stored and difficult to exploit, and the previous technical exploitation cost is very high. Compared with the Middle East, the exploitation cost is only a few dollars, more than ten dollars, or even twenty or thirty dollars per barrel, which is not cost-effective. In addition to exploiting some local and Gulf of Mexico crude oil, a large number of imports are the best choice.

by 214, the international oil price exceeded $1 per barrel, and shale oil mining technology has also made progress, and the overall profit and loss cost is still around $5 per barrel. However, for high oil prices, the disadvantage of high shale oil mining technology cost has been offset, and a large number of shale oil mining technologies have been applied in the United States. For example, 95% shale oil wells in the United States are mined by hydraulic fracturing. At this time, OPEC and non-OPEC countries quit, fearing to lose their leading position in oil control. In addition, when the Ukrainian war started in 214, the United States and Europe sanctioned Russian oil and gas, and Russia's main financial revenue was oil and gas. They disagreed with Saudi Arabia's production reduction plan and increased production. OPEC and non-OPEC countries led by Saudi Arabia increased their production, and the oil price plummeted by half in three months, and even fell below $4 or even below $3. You know, the cost of shale oil mining in the United States is about 5 dollars per barrel. A large number of American shale oil companies went bankrupt, closed oil production facilities and laid off workers.

as the saying goes, if you kill 1, enemies, you have to damage 3, yourself, right? In Saudi Arabia, the major oil-producing countries, oil is the main financial revenue, and oil prices have plummeted. Are there other expenses? Its economy has also been hit hard, and Saudi Arabia's foreign exchange reserves have been greatly reduced. At the end of 213, it was $725.2 billion. After the oil price war began, it gradually fell to only $445 billion in 22. It is necessary to know that the exchange rate of Saudi currency Rial against the US dollar needs at least $3 billion in foreign exchange reserves. The economies of Russia, Iran and Venezuela, which have been sanctioned, are even more difficult.

With the deepening of the oil price war, people are surprised to find that more advanced shale oil mining technologies have appeared in the United States, such as heavy oil mining technology, and the profit and loss cost is only $16 per barrel, which means that even if the oil price is $3 per barrel, American shale oil companies can still make profits, and a large number of oil wells have appeared in shale oil producing areas. The oil production in the United States has gradually increased to more than 1 million barrels per day, and even reached more than 12 million barrels per day at the peak in 219. It can be said that the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, can not rely on imports at all, and don't look at OPEC.

At this time, the established oil exporters can't sit still, and the price war is meaningless. Besides putting pressure on Russia, they can't crush American shale oil enterprises. By December 219, OPEC and non-OPEC alliance conferences were held, and all parties decided to cut production and protect oil prices, and oil prices began to rise again. American shale oil producers have laid more pipelines to the coast, and the coast has also increased many oil receiving ports that can accept giant tankers. They can pay off their debts and sit back and collect money. Although COVID-19 will have a new impact on oil prices in 22, with the popularization of vaccination and the recovery of the world economy, it will not shake the position of the United States as the top oil producer in the world at all, on the contrary, it will export a lot. Last year, the United States was one of China's top ten oil importers, an increase of 211% over 219, reaching 19.76 million tons.

from the shale oil development in the United States, we once again appreciate the profound meaning of the famous saying that "science and technology are the primary productive forces". However, China is a country with a large population. Although the oil output is the top six in the world in 22, the import is the first in the world. New energy is the only way for China's energy development. I hope that all enterprises and research institutes will work together to make greater breakthroughs in energy science and technology at an early date.