Test Your International Oil IQ

In last week’s column, we examined some oil production trivia involving US states. This week, we look at some international oil trivia covering the 5-year period 2007-2011, as well as some individual trivia from 2012.

In this case, the data sources are the 2012 BP Statistical Review of World Energy and the Energy Information Administration. A table showing the Top 15 countries with the highest percentage increases in oil production over the past five years follows the quiz. Answers are at the end.

1. Which country had the largest percentage increase in oil production from 2007 to 2011?

a. Canada
b. United States
c. Russia
d. Columbia

2. Which country produced the most oil in 2011?

a. Iraq
b. Qatar
c. United States
d. Brazil

3. Which country supplied no oil exports to the US in 2012?

a. China
b. Chad
c. Cameroon
d. Qatar

4. Which country was not among the Top 5 suppliers of oil to the US in 2012?

a. Nigeria
b. Venezuela
c. Iraq
d. Saudi Arabia

5. Which country was the largest export destination for refined products (e.g., gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) from the US in 2012?

a. Canada
b. Mexico
c. The Netherlands
d. Brazil

Here are the Top 15 countries with the largest percentage increases in oil production from 2007 to 2011.

Top 15 Increases in Oil Production
Oil Production Increases in Countries from 2007 to 2011 (Source: 2012 BP Statistical Review of World Energy).

Answers

1. US oil production increased by a respectable 15% over this time period, but that lagged far behind the 67% increase in oil production that took place in Columbia.

2. US oil production in 2011 exceeded that of the other three countries combined.

3. According to the EIA, Qatar is the only country among the four from which the US imported zero oil in 2012.

4. Nigeria is traditionally one of the Top 5 suppliers of oil to the US, but declining production there plus an increase in production from Iraq caused Nigeria to slip behind Iraq and out of the Top 5.

5. All four countries imported significant amounts of products from US refineries, but Mexico was the top destination for US exports. In 2012 the US imported 970,000 bpd of crude oil from Mexico and sent them nearly 600,000 bpd of finished products.