Oil production APAC 2022, by country

China was the largest producer of oil in the Asia-Pacific region, as the country produced over four million barrels of oil per day in 2022. In the same year, India produced the second highest amount of oil, producing 737 thousand barrels per day.

China and the oil industry

On a global level, crude oil is the most consumed primary energy type, closely followed by coal. While China is the largest producer of oil in the Asia-Pacific region, it also has the highest oil consumption among the region's countries. China's consumption of crude oil is more than two times higher than its production. As the country's oil reserves are not sufficient to cover its demand, a big share of the oil is imported for further processing. The largest oil trading partners of China are countries in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia.

The importance of oil in the Asia-Pacific region

Oil is not only of high relevance in China. Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region also have a high dependence on the resource. Petronas, the government-owned oil and gas company from Malaysia, is the most valuable brand of the country. As Malaysia’s oil and gas resources are exclusively owned by Petronas, this shows the importance of the industry in the country. Oil also was the most consumed primary energy in the Philippines, but due to low domestic oil reserves, the country has to import a significant share of its crude oil from Middle Eastern countries. While the oil production of Vietnam meets approximately two-thirds of its domestic consumption, the country also exports a significant amount of the resource to other countries. The leading market for importing crude oil from Vietnam is currently Thailand, followed by Australia.