JEAS-Blog (2023.2.1)
Global Ranking of Fossil Fuel Producers
Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani
Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan
*mrehmani@gudgk.edu.pk
The use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) as an energy source dates back to the Industrial Revolution (during late 18th and early 19th centuries), and the world still extracts and consumes a massive amount of coal, gas, and oil.
Fossil fuels have played a major role in industrialization and have powered much of the world’s transportation and electricity generation. However, due to the negative impact, of extensive use of fossil fuels, on the environment and the finite nature of their supplies, there is a growing movement towards renewable energy sources (e.g., solar and wind power). Moreover, countries and companies are investing in new technologies for efficient and more sustainable utilization of natural resources.
The industrial revolution was a period of significant change, characterized by the growth of manufacturing, transportation, and technology. It transformed the produced processes, from manual labor to machine-based production, leading to increased productivity. Key developments during the Industrial Revolution included the invention of the steam engine, the growth of the cotton industry, and advancements in iron production and transportation, including the railway system.
Coal was the primary source of energy during this time, used electricity generation, to power factories, heat homes, and fuel steam engines. Later, oil and natural gas joined coal (in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) as an energy source. Due to several factors, the use of oil and natural gas as energy sources became so extensive that they eventually replaced coal as the primary fuel in many industrial applications. Fossil fuels have continued to be the dominant source of energy globally, providing over 80% of the world’s energy needs.
Global Fossil Fuels Production in 2021
This infographic visualizes the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021, produced by Elements Visual Capitalist (https://elements.visualcapitalist.com) using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
1. Coal Production Globally, In 2021, the world produced around 8 billion tonnes of coal, 4 billion tonnes of oil, and over 4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. If we arrange annually produced coal (in 2021) as a cube, the cube would be 2.141 km, which is more than 2.5 times the height of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa (830 m to tip) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
China remained the largest coal producer by producing 4.126 billion tonnes, which is more than 50% share in global coal production in 2021. In addition to largest producer, China is also the largest coal consumer consuming 54% of accumulated global coal consumption in 2021. In coal production, China is followed by India (the second largest coal producer and consumer), Indonesia, the U.S., Australia, Russia, and South Africa.
This infographic visualizes the volume of coal production in 2021, using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
2. Oil Production Globally, 4.221 billion tonnes of oil was produced in 2021. The United States was the largest oil producer producing 711.1 million tonnes of oil, followed by Russia (536.4 million tonnes), Saudi Arabia (515.0 million tonnes), Canada (267.1 million tonnes), Iraq (200.8 million tonnes), the top five oil-producing countries in the world. The total volume of crude oil produced in 2021 is estimated to be 5.0 billion cubic meters. The total oil produced in 2021, if arranged as a cube, the cube would be 1.706 km, which is more than double the height of the world’s tallest building.
This infographic visualizes the volume of oal production in 2021, using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
3. Natural Gas Production In 2021, 4,036 billion cubic meters of natural gas was produced throughout the world. The United States was the largest producer of natural gas producing 934.2 of billion cubic meters of natural gas, followed by Russia (701.7 billion cubic meters), Iran (256.7 billion cubic meters), China (209.2 billion cubic meters), Qatar (177.0 billion cubic meters), were the top five natural gas producing countries in the world.Â
This infographic visualizes the volume of natural gas production in 2021, using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
4. Top Fossil Fuel-Producing Countries Considering accumulated fossil fuel production (coal, natural gas, and oil), China was the largest fossil fuel producer, followed by U.S. and Russia. Infographics and figures presented the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021 using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
This infographic is based on data of top fossil fuel producers in 2021, from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy..
Cite this Blog as:
Rehmani, M.I.A. 2023. Global Ranking of Fossil Fuel Producers. Agropublishers, Multan, Pakistan. JEAS-Blog. 2023(2): 1
Copyright © Rehmani, 2023  This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original author and source are appropriately cited and credited.
Similar Articles in JEAS
- Â
Very helpful. Great effort.