In the second half of the 20th century, the global oil market was dominated by a group of Anglo-American multinationals known as the Seven Sisters. As a result, in order to exert more power over their own resources, oil-rich countries such as Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela joined forces to create OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) at the Baghdad Conference in 1960. These countries realized that they had non-renewable resources and that if they competed with each other, the price of oil would fall too far, ultimately causing them to run out of the valuable but limited commodity more quickly.

Currently, the organization has 13 member countries, of which Saudi Arabia is the largest producer, accounting for almost one-third of OPEC's total oil production.With OPEC estimating that 80% of the world's proven crude oil reserves in 2021 will be located in its member countries, the organization has had a significant impact on the global energy landscape.

Global Oil and Gas Markets:

The global oil and gas market is valued at USD 6.99 trillion in 2022 and is expected to grow to USD 8.67 trillion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period. The largest region in terms of global oil and gas market share is Asia Pacific, with North America coming in second.

The major factors driving the growth of the industry include growing demand for oil and gas, increasing competition in the industry, financial capital, and public scrutiny. In addition, increase in oil and gas exploration activities across the globe and rising prices are also expected to drive the growth of the industry.

Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War:

After President Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year, Western policymakers promised the Kremlin "sanctions from hell" in response. However, the so-called hell is yet to be seen.

Last December, the U.S., along with the European Union, the Group of Seven and Australia, imposed a $60-per-barrel limit on the price of Russian oil. The cap was designed to deprive Putin's government of revenue to finance its aggression against Ukraine, forcing it to either sell oil at a discount or find costly alternative shipping networks.

While the initial blow of sanctions led to a $25 billion deficit in Russia's budget at the start of the year, their impact has receded dramatically as the Kremlin has subsequently learned to better circumvent them by moving away from Western shipping and services. It has done so through the use of a large fleet of shadow tankers, whose ownership and insurance status is unclear, so that the $60 price cap is not always respected. As a result, coupled with favorable price dynamics, the Russian state's energy revenues more than doubled to $17.63 billion in September-October of this year.

China is one of the biggest players taking full advantage of this situation. Despite the weak economy, the East Asian giant has been importing a record amount of oil this year, as it utilizes cheap Russian crude to build up inventories and export refined products. In the first half of the year, China imported 2.13 million barrels of oil a day from Russia, ahead of Saudi Arabia's 1.88 million barrels, making Russia China's biggest supplier of crude so far this year. To avoid violating Western sanctions, Chinese refiners use intermediary traders to handle the transportation and insurance of Russian crude.

This demonstrates that the impact of the war in Europe extends far beyond the battlefield, creating new geopolitical alliances and leading to one of the biggest shifts in global energy markets in decades.

The following are the major oil importing countries in 2023:

10. United Kingdom

Total oil imports in 2022: $39.46 billion

Although the UK produces large quantities of oil from its own resources, its refineries do not have the capacity to process the sulfur-containing crude oil extracted from the North Sea. As a result, much of the domestically produced oil is shipped to other markets, while the country's own refineries rely heavily on imports.

Most of the oil imported into the UK comes from Norway, which supplies about 11.7 million tons of crude oil to the UK annually.

9. Italy

Total oil imports in 2022: $44.92 billion

Italy has a large refining industry with a strong capacity to produce a wide range of fuels and petrochemicals, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and petrochemicals. As a result, Italy remains an important net exporter of petroleum products despite its high crude oil imports.

8. Spain

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $47.75 billion

As Spain has negligible oil production of its own, it has to import almost all it consumes and this is a very large amount since the country’s energy model depends largely on crude oil. According to Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which targets carbon neutrality in 2050, the country’s oil consumption will drop by 23% over the next 10 years, contributing to a 31% cut of overall greenhouse gas emissions over the period.

7. Netherlands

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $58.67 billion

The Netherlands is an important energy hub in the Northwest European market – not only for oil, but also for natural gas, coal, and electricity. Dutch ports play a key role in the global and regional energy trade and have one of the largest concentrations of oil refining and marine bunkering fuels in Europe.

Since December 2022, Russian crude oil has stopped entering the Netherlands, having accounted for 30% of crude oil imports in 2022 as a whole.

6. Germany

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $63.15 billion

Germany’s crude oil imports rose by 8.5% last year as Europe’s biggest economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and the bill for its purchases soared as oil prices surged. Russia, the United States, and Kazakhstan were the largest suppliers of crude to the Western European nation in 2022.

Germany is the Top Oil Importing Country in Europe.

5. Japan

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $100.92 billion

Japan is the third-largest economy in the world, and since it has virtually no oil production of its own to feed such a large domestic machinery, it is heavily reliant on imports, more than 90% of which comes from the Middle East. The island nation is served by five main oil ports – Chiba, Yokohama, Yokkaichi, Mizushima, and Osaka.

4. Republic of Korea

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $105.96 billion

Due to insufficient domestic resources, South Korea imports nearly all of its energy. Oil consumption has generally trended upwards since the late 2000s, with demand for naphtha being particularly strong due to the East Asian country’s large petrochemicals industry.

3. India

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $173.52 billion

India imports around 84% of its crude oil needs, and it has been on the rise with every passing year as consumption of fuels and other petroleum products increased while domestic production remained flat. However, with a refining capacity of nearly 254 million tonnes per annum, the South Asian country is still a net exporter of petroleum products.

2. United States of America

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $204.72 billion

The U.S. is the Largest Oil Producer in the World in 2023, accounting for 14.7% of the overall world crude production in 2022. Despite this, the country imports so much crude mainly because many of its refineries are not equipped to distill the light oil coming from the Gulf Coast, and are more suited to the heavy, harder-to-refine crude imported from the Middle East and elsewhere.

Canada now accounts for more than half of U.S. oil imports, replacing OPEC as the top source over the past decade.

1. China

Total Oil Imports in 2022: $366.51 billion

China is not only the country with the second-largest population in the world, but is also the second-largest global economy, so it comes as no surprise that it is the Largest Oil Importer in the World in 2023. Another reason the People’s Republic has increased oil imports and refining capacity is also to sell to other nations, particularly in Asia.

China was the Biggest Buyer of Saudi Oil in 2022, buying 87.49 million tonnes of crude during the year, equivalent to 1.75 million barrels per day.