Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Oil reserves was 41.11 billion cubic meters in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
41.11 billion cubic meters
Change on year
down 3.2%
World rank
2nd
of 215 countries
All-time high
42.45 billion cubic meters
in 2020
All-time low
26.28 billion cubic meters
in 1983
Years of data
42
1980–2021

Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, 1980–2021

010.0B20.0B30.0B40.0B1980200020211980: 26.5B cubic meters1981: 26.7B cubic meters1982: 26.7B cubic meters1983: 26.3B cubic meters1984: 26.8B cubic meters1985: 27.3B cubic meters1986: 27.3B cubic meters1987: 26.9B cubic meters1988: 27.0B cubic meters1989: 27.4B cubic meters1990: 40.9B cubic meters1991: 41.3B cubic meters1992: 41.4B cubic meters1993: 41.4B cubic meters1994: 41.5B cubic meters1995: 41.5B cubic meters1996: 41.5B cubic meters1997: 41.6B cubic meters1998: 41.6B cubic meters1999: 41.6B cubic meters2000: 41.9B cubic meters2001: 41.6B cubic meters2002: 41.6B cubic meters2003: 41.6B cubic meters2004: 41.6B cubic meters2005: 41.6B cubic meters2006: 42.0B cubic meters2007: 42.0B cubic meters2008: 42.0B cubic meters2009: 42.0B cubic meters2010: 42.0B cubic meters2011: 42.0B cubic meters2012: 42.1B cubic meters2013: 42.2B cubic meters2014: 42.3B cubic meters2015: 42.3B cubic meters2016: 42.4B cubic meters2017: 42.4B cubic meters2018: 42.3B cubic meters2019: 42.3B cubic meters2020: 42.5B cubic meters2021: 41.1B cubic meters

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.

Analysis

In 2021, oil reserves in Saudi Arabia stood at 41.11 billion cubic meters.

The figure is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, oil reserves in Saudi Arabia peaked at 42.45 billion cubic meters in 2020 and was at its lowest, 26.28 billion cubic meters, in 1983.

That places Saudi Arabia 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 26.89 billion cubic meters 26.28 billion cubic meters 27.44 billion cubic meters 10
1990s 41.44 billion cubic meters 40.95 billion cubic meters 41.58 billion cubic meters 10
2000s 41.81 billion cubic meters 41.61 billion cubic meters 42.02 billion cubic meters 10
2010s 42.22 billion cubic meters 42.01 billion cubic meters 42.38 billion cubic meters 10
2020s 41.78 billion cubic meters 41.11 billion cubic meters 42.45 billion cubic meters 2

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 1 Venezuela 48.30 billion cubic meters compare
  2. 3 Iran 33.16 billion cubic meters compare
  3. 4 Canada 27.08 billion cubic meters compare
  4. 5 Iraq 23.06 billion cubic meters compare

See the full ranking of 216 places →

More energy & mining data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is oil reserves in Saudi Arabia?
Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia was 41.11 billion cubic meters in 2021, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest oil reserves recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 42.45 billion cubic meters in 2020.
What is the lowest oil reserves recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 26.28 billion cubic meters in 1983.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for oil reserves?
Saudi Arabia ranks 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2021.
Is oil reserves rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
The figures come from U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Oil reserves. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Oil reserves
Unit
cubic meters
Source
U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
216 places, 8,283 data points, 1980–2021
Last refreshed

Proved reserves, measured in cubic meters, are generally those quantities that can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, according to geological and engineering information. Includes crude oil and lease condensate.