10 Largest Profitable Oil Fields in the World

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. It is followed by Saudi Arabia, Canada and Iran. However, the United States produces the most crude oil daily. Saudi Arabia is the biggest exporter of oil. Russia is also a major oil producer and one of the top exporters.

Most of the world's largest oil fields are located in the Middle East, but there are also supergiant (>10 billion bbl) oil fields in Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

However, oil mines are scattered in different countries of the world. Some of these mines are huge, some are very small. It is not commercially viable to re-extract oil in smaller mines. Finding a large oil field can change the economy of that country. Most of the world's largest mines are located in countries that are also important in the international oil market.

Let's take a look at the world's largest conventional oil fields in terms of production:
1. Gowar Oilfield, Saudi Arabia

It is located in the Eastern Province of the country. This mine is 280 km long and 30 km wide. The Gowar mine was discovered in 1948, and went into production in 1951. Saudi Aramco owns it. The Gowar field has the capacity to produce 50 million barrels of oil per day. The potential reserves of oil in this mine are 7 thousand 100 million barrels.

2. Oslo, Norway

It is an oil field in the North Sea, with an overlying gas field. It is located 140 km northwest of the city of Bergen in southwestern Norway. The mine, named after a 9th century Viking ship, was discovered in 1979. It can extract 30 lakh 78 thousand barrels of oil per day. The main operating company of this mine is State Oil. Also included are Petoro, Total, Xmobil and ConocoPhillips.

3. Bolivar Coastal Field, Venezuela

This oil field in the country was discovered in 1917 and started production in 1922. It is the largest oil field in South America, with 7,000 wells. They are located along the 35 km coastline of Lake Maracaibo. This oil field is believed to have 3,000 to 3,500 million barrels of oil. Production capacity is 2.6 million barrels per day.

4. Fyodorovskoye Field, Russia

The oil field is located south of St. Petersburg in Western Siberia. Discovered in 1971. The reserves of this mine have now been greatly reduced. But still 19 million barrels of crude oil are produced from it.

5. Burgan Field, Kuwait

This oil field was discovered in 1957. Its location is in the southern desert of Kuwait. It is considered to be the largest sandstone oil field in the world. During the Gulf War in 1991, Iraqi forces set fire to the oil field as they fled. However, in that incident, it did not suffer any major damage or decrease in stock. 1.7 million barrels of oil are extracted from the Burgan field every day. Potential reserves are 4,400 million barrels.

6. Rumaila oil field, Iraq

This oil field was discovered in 1953. It is owned by the country's government but leased to BP or British Petroleum and China National Petroleum Corporation. At present, 13 lakh barrels of oil are extracted from the Rumaila field. Its potential reserves are 1,700 billion barrels. The number of wells in Rumaila oil field is 270. There is a plan to increase the production capacity to 21 lakh barrels in the coming days.

7. Samotlor Field, Russia

Its location is 1 thousand 752 square kilometers in Lake Samotlar area. In terms of size, this oil field is the largest in Russia. It was discovered in 1965 and went into production in 1969. At present, 8 lakh 44 thousand barrels of oil are extracted from this mine. Probable reserves are 4 billion barrels. After the start of production, 260 million tons of oil have been extracted from this mine.

8. Pribskoye Field, Russia

This huge oil field is located in Western Siberia covering 5,400 square kilometers. It was invented in 1982 and came into production in 2000. It is jointly owned and operated by Gazprom Neft and Rosneft. At present, 6 lakh 84 thousand barrels of oil are extracted from this oil field every day.

9. Prudhoe Bay, United States

It is located on 213,543 acres on the North Slope of Alaska. This oil field is the largest in the United States and the North American continent. It was discovered in 1968 but came into production in 1977. Other partners in the BP-operated mine are ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips Alaska. 6 lakh 60 thousand barrels of oil are extracted from here every day. And potential reserves are 2,500 million barrels.

10. Majnun oil field, Iraq

The mine is located near the city of Basra in southern Iraq. The Majnun oil field is at the top of the list of the world's most oil-filled mines. Its potential reserves are 1,260 million barrels. It was discovered by the Brazilian company Braspetro in 1975. The word Majnun means crazy. 5 lakh barrels of oil are extracted from this field every day.