04 June 2004

World's Largest Oil Producers: Russian, Saudi Arabia, U.S.

SiberianLight cites a Times (of London) report that
Russia is now the world's largest producer of oil. Which is certainly nice for Russia, which is turning a tidy profit on the back of oil prices in excess of $40 per barrel.

Russia currently has a 10% market share - it produced just over 9 million barrels per day in April, wheras Saudia Arabia produced only (!) 8.96 million bpd. (The US, in case you are interested, was the third largest producer, with 7.9 million bpd).
According to the Times
China is the fastest-growing user of crude oil, increasing its thirst at about 13 per cent this year, as it burns more fuel in the power stations that drive its economic growth.
According to ABCNews, China's growth is contributing in a big way not only to rising oil prices, but also to worldwide demand for industrial materials.
China has become the world's largest consumer of many industrial materials, including steel, iron ore, copper, tin, zinc, platinum and cement. China now uses so much cement that some homebuilders in Florida told ABC News they must wait months to pour a foundation....

The Chinese government is trying to slow this torrid pace of growth — so far, with little success. But don't wish too hard for a sharp slowdown in China. It might bring down the price of oil and other commodities, but economies everywhere that trade with China would suffer, including the United States.

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