Global crude oil reserves 1960-2023

The world holds around 1.57 trillion barrels in proved crude oil reserves as of 2023. This is excluding oil sands. Since 1960, there has been a marked increase in oil reserves, especially in the decade between 1960 and 1970. 

Regional distribution of oil reserves

As the volume of global oil reserves grew, the regional balance of proved oil reserves also shifted. In the 1960s, more than 62 percent of proved reserves worldwide were in the Middle East. By 2023, the region still made up around 55 percent, but had lost its shares to Latin America, which benefited from oil sands discoveries in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s oil boom

High increases in proved oil reserves in Central and South America predominantly came from Venezuela, and impacted regional distribution worldwide. The country’s proven oil reserves drastically increased when the energy and oil ministry certified vast quantities of oil sands in the Faja del Orinoco region, known as the Orinoco Belt. In 2011, Venezuela overtook Saudi Arabia as the country with the highest share of proven oil reserves in the world.