Monday, September 28th, 2026 and is filed under Oil and Gas Current Events, Permian Basin Oil News
The world’s top oil producing countries pumped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil each day in 2025, but one country continued to stand well above the rest.
The United States remained the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2025, extending a streak that began in 2018 when it surpassed Russia for the top position. U.S. crude oil and lease condensate production reached a record 13.6 million barrels per day (b/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The latest EIA data provide a clear picture of the Top Oil Producing Countries in the World 2025, from the record-setting United States to major producers across the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
Top 10 Oil Producing Countries in 2025
According to the EIA’s International Energy Statistics, these were the world’s top 10 producers of crude oil and lease condensate in 2025:
| Rank | Country | 2025 Production |
| 1 | United States | 13.6 million b/d |
| 2 | Russia | 9.9 million b/d |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 9.6 million b/d |
| 4 | Canada | 5.0 million b/d |
| 5 | Iraq | 4.4 million b/d |
| 6 | China | 4.3 million b/d |
| 7 | Iran | 4.1 million b/d |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | 3.8 million b/d |
| 9 | Brazil | 3.8 million b/d |
| 10 | Kuwait | 2.6 million b/d |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics. Figures represent average 2025 crude oil and lease condensate production and are rounded to the nearest 0.1 million barrels per day.
Top Oil Producing Countries in the World 2025 Bar Chart
The United States retained its position as the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2025, averaging a record 13.6 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate.
That broke the previous U.S., and global, record of 13.2 million b/d established in 2024. The EIA reports that U.S. production in 2025 was approximately 40% higher than production from Russia or Saudi Arabia, its two closest competitors.
What makes the new record particularly noteworthy is that it occurred despite lower oil prices. The average West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price fell from $77 per barrel in 2024 to $65 in 2025. Continued improvements in drilling productivity and operating efficiency allowed producers to extract more oil per well and increase total production.
The Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico remained the centerpiece of U.S. production. Permian crude oil production increased approximately 4%, climbing from 6.3 million b/d in 2024 to 6.6 million b/d in 2025. The Permian alone accounted for approximately 48% of total U.S. crude oil production.
Russia remained the world’s second-largest producer, averaging approximately 9.9 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate in 2025.
Unlike the United States, Russia experienced little production growth during the year. According to the EIA, Russian output remained largely unchanged from 2024. Voluntary production cuts and effects related to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine limited growth.
Even with these constraints, Russia remained one of only three countries producing close to or above 10 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Saudi Arabia ranked third among the Top Oil Producing Countries 2025, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day.
That represented an increase from approximately 9.2 million b/d in 2024. The EIA attributes the increase in part to OPEC+ beginning to unwind voluntary production cuts during 2025.
Saudi Arabia remains OPEC’s largest crude oil producer and one of the most influential participants in global petroleum markets. Its substantial reserves, production capacity and ability to adjust output give the country an important role in balancing global oil supplies.
Canada ranked fourth worldwide with approximately 5.0 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate production.
Canada’s enormous oil sands resources make it one of the most important petroleum-producing countries outside OPEC+. Much of the country’s production is concentrated in Alberta, where large oil sands deposits support both mined and in-situ production (see video below for more information on in-situ production).
Canada is also deeply integrated with the U.S. petroleum market, supplying significant quantities of crude oil to American refineries through an extensive pipeline network.
With its large resource base and proximity to the world’s largest crude oil producer and consumer market, Canada remains an important component of North American energy production.
Iraq produced approximately 4.4 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate in 2025, placing it fifth in the EIA ranking and slightly ahead of China.
Iraq possesses some of the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, with much of its production concentrated in giant fields in the southern part of the country.
As an OPEC member, Iraq’s production levels are influenced by the organization’s production agreements as well as infrastructure and export capacity. Its enormous petroleum resource base nevertheless gives Iraq the potential to remain a major producer for decades.
China ranked sixth, producing approximately 4.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate during 2025.
China has invested heavily in domestic oil exploration and production as it seeks to maximize its own energy resources. Its national oil companies continue to develop both mature fields and newer offshore resources.
However, domestic production is only part of China’s petroleum story. The country’s enormous demand for oil substantially exceeds domestic production, making China heavily dependent on crude oil imports even though it ranks among the world’s largest producers.
Iran ranked seventh with approximately 4.1 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate production in 2025.
Iran possesses some of the world’s largest oil reserves and has been a major petroleum producer for decades. Production has continued despite international sanctions and restrictions affecting parts of its petroleum industry and international trade.
The country also occupies an important geographic position along the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important petroleum transit routes.
The United Arab Emirates produced approximately 3.8 million barrels per day in 2025, tying Brazil in rounded EIA figures.
The UAE has invested heavily in expanding oil production capacity, particularly in Abu Dhabi, which contains most of the country’s petroleum reserves.
Like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, UAE production is influenced by OPEC+ production policies. However, continued investment in exploration, field development and production infrastructure has positioned the UAE to remain one of the world’s leading petroleum producers.
Brazil also averaged approximately 3.8 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate in 2025.
Brazil has emerged as one of the most important sources of new oil production outside OPEC+. Much of that growth comes from enormous offshore pre-salt fields located beneath thick layers of salt deep below the Atlantic Ocean.
Advances in offshore drilling, seismic imaging and floating production technology have allowed Brazil to develop resources that would have been extremely challenging to produce only a few decades ago.
Brazil’s growing production is also an example of how technological advances continue to change the geographic makeup of the global oil industry.
Kuwait rounds out the top 10 with approximately 2.6 million barrels per day of crude oil and lease condensate production in 2025.
Despite its relatively small geographic size, Kuwait holds substantial oil reserves and has been a major petroleum producer for decades.
Much of its production comes from a relatively small number of exceptionally large fields. As a member of OPEC, Kuwait also participates in the organization’s efforts to coordinate production among member countries.
The United States Continues to Widen Its Lead
One of the clearest conclusions from the EIA’s 2025 data is just how far U.S. oil production has come.
The United States first surpassed Russia to become the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2018. By 2025, U.S. production had reached 13.6 million barrels per day compared with 9.9 million b/d for Russia and 9.6 million b/d for Saudi Arabia.
The transformation can be traced largely to the development of shale resources. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing reversed a decades-long decline in U.S. crude oil production beginning around 2008. Continued improvements in drilling productivity, completion techniques and operating efficiency have since allowed producers to recover increasing quantities of oil from shale formations.
The result is significant: the EIA notes that the United States has become not only the largest current producer of crude oil, but the largest crude oil producer ever recorded.
The Permian Basin Drives U.S. Oil Production
At the center of the U.S. oil production story is the Permian Basin.
Stretching across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the Permian produced an average of approximately 6.6 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, up from 6.3 million b/d in 2024. That represents approximately 48% of total U.S. crude oil production.
For perspective, the Permian Basin by itself produced more crude oil in 2025 than Canada, Iraq, China, Iran, the UAE, Brazil or Kuwait.
The Permian’s combination of extensive oil-bearing formations, established infrastructure and continued improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has helped transform the region into one of the most important oil-producing areas anywhere in the world.
Technology Continues to Reshape Global Oil Production
The 2025 rankings also illustrate the role technology plays in determining where and how oil is produced.
In the United States, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unlocked enormous shale resources. In Brazil, advances in deepwater drilling and offshore production have opened vast pre-salt resources. In Canada, specialized extraction technologies make it possible to commercially develop massive oil sands deposits.
These technologies have expanded the amount of petroleum that can be economically recovered and changed the global production landscape.
The United States provides perhaps the clearest example. The EIA reports that continued gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency helped increase U.S. output even as oil prices declined in 2025.
What the Top Oil Producing Countries in 2025 Tell Us
The Top Oil Producing Countries 2025 include many familiar names, but the distribution of production shows how dramatically the industry has changed over the past two decades.
Russia and Saudi Arabia remain global petroleum giants. Canada continues to benefit from its enormous oil sands resources. Major Middle Eastern producers including Iraq, Iran, the UAE and Kuwait continue to supply substantial portions of global crude oil production. Meanwhile, Brazil has emerged as a major offshore producer.
But the United States remains in a category of its own.
Record U.S. production of 13.6 million barrels per day and Permian Basin production of 6.6 million b/d demonstrate the scale of America’s oil resources and the impact of advances in drilling and completion technology.
For oil and gas investors, the 2025 production numbers also demonstrate why geology alone does not determine the value of an oil resource. Technology, infrastructure, operating efficiency, commodity prices and the ability to economically develop reserves all play important roles.
As those factors continue to evolve, the United States—and particularly prolific regions such as the Permian Basin—will remain central to the global oil production story.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics, “The United States produced more crude oil than any other country in 2025,” published July 9, 2026.
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