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Page added on June 7, 2017
The World’s Top Oil Consumers
No doubt when faced with the question “Who’s the biggest oil guzzler in the world?” one would immediately think about the U.S. or China. Or perhaps India. Few of us, however, would say Gibraltar. Yet on a per-capita basis, Gibraltar is the world’s top crude oil consumer, with an average daily consumption rate of 861,06 barrels per day per 1,000 people as of 2014. In case anyone’s interested, the top 5 list also contains tiny nations such as Montserrat, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Nauru.
The reason these countries have made the top 5 is that they are indeed very small, so the per-capita data paints a kind of misleading picture, although to be fair, the top 10 list features nations such as Singapore, at #3, Kuwait, at #7, and the United Arab Emirates at #10. Yet the big ones—the U.S., China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Russia—are further down the list of per-capita consumption.
If we switch to overall consumption, however, we get the picture that has been swinging international oil prices, with U.S. at the top, consuming 19.6 million barrels of crude daily, followed by China, with around 11.3 million bpd in consumption. The top five here is completed by Japan, India, and Russia. Together, these five nations gobble up more than 40 million barrels every day. That’s compared to global consumption of 98.3 million bpd, forecast for this year by the Energy Information Administration.
So, just five countries account for more than a third of global consumption. For context, the EIA ranking of oil consumers includes 206 countries, the last 25 of which use up less than 2,000 barrels of crude daily each. Incidentally, these include Montserrat, the fourth-biggest per-capita consumer, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, another top-five per-capital consumer.
So, what would happen if these top five consumers— consumers that need more than 40 million barrels of crude on a daily basis—reduced their consumption by half? That would be 20 million barrels in daily demand taken off the market, where EIA projects supply this year to hit 98.47 million barrels. Now that would be some price crash to see.
We won’t get to see it anytime soon, however, as all the biggest oil guzzlers are industrialized nations and the renewable energy drive it will take years, if not decades. In the U.S., as in the other top consumers, demand has been growing steadily, alongside the rise of renewable energy. Even Germany, where demand for oil has been declining thanks to the growing reliance on cleaner energy sources, is still in the top 10 globally, consuming 2.338 million barrels of crude daily as of 2015.
A recent report from a new UK-based think tank, RethinkX, painted a very gloomy picture for the oil industry in the coming decade as electric self-driving cars took over roads. Hypothetically, such a disruption as RethinkX calls it, could lead to the halving of crude oil demand in at least some of the top oil consumers. In reality, however, such a change in demand is bound to happen much more gradually, disruptions or no disruptions. Oil is a tough habit to kick.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
15 Comments on "The World’s Top Oil Consumers"
Survivalist on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 6:46 am
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_consumption
Survivalist on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 6:49 am
https://www.indexmundi.com/energy/?product=oil&graph=consumption&display=rank
Cloggie on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 7:10 am
Gibraltar is the world’s top crude oil consumer, with an average daily consumption rate of 861,06 barrels per day per 1,000 people as of 2014.
That’s the British navy. Expect that figure to go down rapidly after the coming hard-Brexit.lol
#GibraltarForTheSpanish
Doomers like to relate high oil consumption to “survival”, but that is BS. High oil consumption means high in the geopolitical pecking order. But you can very well live good and quiet on a low carbon budget:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita
USA……16 units
Croatia…4 units
Geopolitically and industrially, Croatia is a fruit fly. I visited the country last Summer and the country made a good, relaxed, impression. A bit shabby perhaps and still a little commie smell about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita
USA…….797/1000
Croatia…380/1000
Croats don’t do international holidays, most don’t have the latest iPhone.
But… the life expectancy is the same as in the US.
In other words, you can reduce your US carbon budget with a factor of four and still expect to live decently and grow old, albeit vastly less affluent and probably without a car and far less travelling and air-conditioning.
But survival will not be at stake.
This is of course not to say that the US should (let alone will) cut its budget with a factor of four, but doomer stories about massive die-off post-peak oil are without basis in reality.
Newfie on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 7:33 am
Seems the top 10 list is a mixed bag, some have profligate usage. But I’ve been to St Pierre/Miquelon three times. Nice place. While it never gets real cold it never gets real warm either. The definition of a marintime climate, surrounded by the cold North Atlantic. So they have a 12 month heating season.
It is an isolated French outpost. It exists to protect French claims on the Grand Banks fishing which is in collapse. It would not survive without French support.
Jef on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 7:46 am
There is only one thing that determines consumption…the ability to pay for it.
Even the most enlightened folks I know, regardless of age, aware of all the converging constraints, fly and drive all over the place when they can afford it.
ALCIADA-MOLE on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 8:09 am
Guys we need to be nice to each other. We need to work together to give white people what they need. We need to go above and beyond their expectations. This way they won’t go for “Muh Donald” or — god forbid — “Muh Nukes”.
I was a Paultard and I was told fighting only strengthens the government and keep the old white (non jewish) women in business.
I just got my tax bill recently and I will report to my own old white woman soon.
Love one another. Just look at ISIS and how they’re being controlled like a bunch of puppets.
deadlykillerbeaz on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 8:20 am
Doesn’t the US Navy consume 16 percent of all the world’s diesel fuel?
20 gallons per barrel, 100,000,000 bpd, 45,000,000 barrels of diesel times 16 percent equals 7,200,000 bpd for the US Navy.
The original gas guzzler.
322,000 active personnel, 7,200,000 barrels of diesel, 939 gallons per capita of enlisted personnel each day.
Wins the contest hands down.
rockman on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 8:34 am
“…such a disruption…could lead to the halving of crude oil demand in at least some of the top oil consumers.”
FYI: 1964 US oil consumption was half of today’s. Inflation adjusted oil price = $25/bbl. Financial condition of the US petroleum industry = coasting along doing just fine as it had been for more the 15 years.
Of course much fewer companies at that time. But the well being of any industry isn’t determined by the number of the player but the condition of the remaining companies. And as consolidation continues the remaining companies will control a proportionally larger share of the remaining reserves.
Yes: in the future ExxonMobil might be in much better shape then it is today. So y’all can stop worrying about them. LOL.
bobinget on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 9:35 am
EIA:
Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the Week Ending June 2, 2017
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged over 17.2 million barrels per day during the week
ending June 2, 2017, 283,000 barrels per day less than the previous week’s average.
Refineries operated at 94.1% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production
decreased last week, averaging over 9.9 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production
increased last week, averaging about 5.3 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged over 8.3 million barrels per day last week, up by 356,000
barrels per day from the previous week. Over the last four weeks, crude oil imports
averaged 8.3 million barrels per day, 8.8% above the same four-week period last year.
Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending
components) last week averaged 787,000 barrels per day. Distillate fuel imports averaged
152,000 barrels per day last week.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve) increased by 3.3 million barrels from the previous week. At 513.2 million
barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are in the upper half of the average range for this time
of year. Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels last week, and
are above the upper limit of the average range. Both finished gasoline inventories and
blending components inventories increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories increased
by 4.4 million barrels last week and are near the upper limit of the average range for this
time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels last week but
are in the lower half of the average range. Total commercial petroleum inventories
increased by 15.5 million barrels last week.
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.1 million barrels per
day, down by 1.2% from the same period last year. Over the last four weeks, motor
gasoline product supplied averaged about 9.6 million barrels per day, down by 0.7% from
the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged over 4.0 million
barrels per day over the last four weeks, up by 1.8% from the same period last year. Jet
fuel product supplied is up 5.2% compared to the same four-week period last year.
bobinget on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 9:50 am
Clearly, an (unbelievably) bearish report.
Helped along by SPR releases and really potent import levels, we wind out the week with a 3.3 million barrel SURPLUS.
Nevertheless, despite the holiday week-end, (less
commuting) we did manage to burn over 20 Million BB p/d.
I predicted a draw of up to ten million barrels. How wrong can a predictor be?
APA, Tuesday night, showed a four million B draw.
Saudi Arabia, almost single handedly, by larding on more oil then we require, is holding the lid on oil prices. Let Trump Tweet them a thank you note for breaking OPEC quotas once again.
Perhaps EIA made a mistake this week or last.
In either case, find out next Wednesday.
Hubert on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 10:59 am
If American Military Industry was a country, it would be #1 consumer of oil in the world, outstripping USA.
Jerome Purtzer on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 11:46 am
Rock, It just dawned on me when I read your comment that with Rex Tillerson at State we might see Exxon-Rosneft-Lukoil emerge as a future major player. Who knew?
rockman on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 3:00 pm
Jerome – “…we might see Exxon-Rosneft-Lukoil emerge as a future major player.” Well, they already are. And they don’t need Rex as a match maker: the last big JV between XOM and Russia was put together on President Obama’s watch. But then Russia pissed off the US with that Ukraine move. Before that President Obama was all for ExxonMobil helping Putin develop oil in their section of the Arctic Ocean. Just as he permitted Shell Oil to drill our Arctic waters.
Like I keep saying: it ain’t personal (and usually not political), it’s just business. LOL.
Anonymouse on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 3:19 pm
That was before the uS pissed off Russia with that Ukraine color revolution move.
Fixed it fer ya, narrativeman.
You’re welcome.
Outcast_Searcher on Wed, 7th Jun 2017 3:30 pm
Jef said:
“There is only one thing that determines consumption…the ability to pay for it.
Even the most enlightened folks I know, regardless of age, aware of all the converging constraints, fly and drive all over the place when they can afford it.”
This is generally true, the world over. And this is why a large CO2 tax is badly needed, IMO. And it’s also why such a tax would be so unpopular with voters — so it won’t happen until AGW and its side effects are MUCH worse.
And everybody in the first world is at fault to some extent. I never fly. And I only drive about 4000 miles a year.
But I spend a fair amount of my time on a computer. And I don’t live in a tent in the woods, preferring the comforts of a house, central heat, A/C, access to medical care, etc.
What really drives me crazy is when some green friend will get on me for, say, drinking bottled water. (Though I generally refill the bottle 10 or more times with tap water before I recycle it).
Or using a top loading efficient clothes washer instead of a front loading one.
And yet the green friend and their spouse typically live in a McMansion 3 times the size of my house, fly all over the world, vacationing many times a year, drive 30,000 miles a year between them (more vacations and recreation), not to mention all the consumer crap, fancy furnishings, clothes, etc. they go through to remain in style, while I’m happy to have all simple stuff and use it until it is truly worn out.
So I think we’re all in denial to some extent. Which of course makes all the endless finger pointing and blaming everyone but ourselves all the more pointless and ironic.
…
But not to worry, the greens can endlessly bleat about betraying the Paris Climate Accords, as though they meant anything worthwhile. Surely that will save us.