Oil

Oil consumption

Oil consumption also dropped for the first time since 2009 by a massive 9.1 million b/d. The decline ‎was in both the OECD (-5.8 million b/d) and the non- OECD (-3.3 million b/d). The US (-2.3 million ‎b/d), the European Union (-1.5 million b/d) and India (-480,000 b/d) reported the largest declines.

‎China was one of the few countries where demand increased in 2020 (220,000 b/d).‎

Oil consumption per capita 2020 (GJ per capita)

Oil production

World oil production fell for the first time since 2009, by 6.6 million b/d in 2020 driven by both OPEC ‎‎(-4.3 million b/d) and non-OPEC (-2.3 million b/d). Libya (-920,000 b/d) and Saudi Arabia (-790,000 ‎b/d) saw the largest OPEC declines, while Russia (-1.0 million b/d) and the US (-600,000 b/d) led non-‎OPEC reductions.

Production increased in only a few countries, mainly Norway (260,000 b/d) and ‎Brazil (150,000 b/d).‎

Oil reserves

Global proved oil reserves were 1732 billion barrels at the end of 2020, down 2 billion barrels versus ‎‎2019. The global R/P ratio shows that oil reserves in 2020 accounted for over 50 years of current ‎production. OPEC holds 70.2% of global reserves.

The top countries in terms of reserves are ‎Venezuela (17.5% of global reserves), closely followed by Saudi Arabia (17.2%) and Canada (9.7%).‎

Distribution of proved reserves in 2000, 2010 and 2020 (%)

Oil prices

The oil price (Dated Brent) averaged $41.84/bbl in 2020 – the lowest since 2004.‎

Crude oil prices 1861-2020 ($ per barrel)

Oil trade movements

In 2020, oil trade fell by 5.3 million b/d (7.6%).

The majority of this decline was in crude oil trade (3.3 million b/d) and was concentrated in Europe ‎‎(1.6 million b/d) and the US (920,000 b/d). China, driven by a rapid economic recovery from the ‎pandemic, saw its crude oil imports increase by 970,000 b/d.‎

Lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions saw trade in oil products fall by 2.1 million b/d. This ‎was concentrated in Europe (620,000 b/d), the US (360,000 b/d) (reflecting reduced air and road ‎transportation) and key trading hub Singapore (325,000 b/d).‎

Major trade movements 2020 (million tonnes)

Refining

Global refinery throughput dropped by 7.4 million b/d (-9.0%) in 2020 reflecting the weakness in ‎demand for oil products. This is the largest fall in crude runs on record, surpassing the previous ‎record -5.4% fall in 1981. Reduced runs were seen in all regions and were greatest in North America ‎‎(-2.6 million b/d, -13.6%), and Europe (-1.5 million b/d, -11.8%). Refining capacity rose by just 0.2 ‎million b/d, with additions in Asia being offset by closures in the US and Europe.

As a result, global refinery utilization also fell dramatically by 8.0 percentage points to 74.1%, the ‎largest annual decline on record and the lowest level since 1985. Utilization in South and Central ‎America and Africa fell to new all-time lows of 53.3% and 54.6% respectively.‎

Regional refining margins ($ per barrel)

Note: The refining margins presented are benchmark margins for three major global refining centres. US Gulf Coast (USGC), North West Europe (NWE – Rotterdam)and Singapore. In each case they are based on a single crude oil appropriate for that region and have optimized product yields based on a generic refinery configuration(cracking, hydrocracking or coking), again appropriate for that region. The margins are on a semi-variable basis, i.e. the margin after all variable costs and fixed energy costs.

Refinery utilization (%,‎ based on average annual capacity)