In this article we are going to list the top 5 countries with the highest oil consumption. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list please take a look at the top 20 countries with the highest oil consumption.
5. Japan
Total consumption in 2020 (million barrels per day): 3,361
Total consumption in 2021 (million barrels per day): 3,415
One of the biggest oil consumers in the world, Japan’s fuel oil demand is currently at a 5 year high, with the nation undertaking a controversial decision to resume oil purchases from Russia in August 2022.
4. Russia
Total consumption in 2020 (million barrels per day): 3,383
Total consumption in 2021 (million barrels per day): 3,665
Russia is one of the biggest oil exporters in the world but European and G7 embargos and price caps on Russian exports have constrained that severely. Meanwhile, OPEC, which had already agreed on a reduction in production targets, agreed a further cut by a further 1.4 million barrels a day.
3. India
Total consumption in 2020 (million barrels per day): 4,457
Total consumption in 2021 (million barrels per day): 4,679
India’s petroleum consumption may have been high in 2021, but it broke all records in 2022-2023 with the country consuming more than 222 million tonnes of petroleum products in the financial year ended March 2023, an increase of 10% from the previous year. India has been one of the biggest benefiters of the Russua-Ukraine war, having purchases oil at dirt cheap prices from Russia while most other nations boycott Russian purchases.
2. China
Total consumption in 2020 (million barrels per day): 14,433
Total consumption in 2021 (million barrels per day): 15,266
China’s oil consumption has increased 7x in the last 4 decades, from 1,857 million barrels per day in 1981 to 15,266 million barrels per day in 2021. Currently, global oil traders are waiting for China’s air travel to boom as the first summer since China’s abandonment of its zero-Covid policy is expected to provide a significant boost to the oil industry. According to JPMorgan Chase, the single biggest driver of world oil demand will be jet fuel consumption in China.
1. United States of America
Total consumption in 2020 (million barrels per day): 18,186
Total consumption in 2021 (million barrels per day): 19,890
Consuming more than India and China together, the U.S. easily tops the list of the countries with the highest oil consumption. There may be further good news for some of the biggest oil companies in the world as the the U.S. Energy Information Administration stated recently that crude oil production in the country is expected to rise more rapidly than anticipated.
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