Venezuela is the world's cheapest country to buy petrol, where amazingly it costs just 2 pence (GBP) a litre. This is because it's home to some of the biggest oil reserves in the world.
Saudi Arabia has the lowest oil production costs in the world thanks to two strategic advantages: Abundant pools of oil close to the surface and no taxes on production. Because of that, it can make money in almost any oil price environment.
The answer is because northern South America has a hydrocarbon source rock that is world class and responsible for the majority of the oil that has formed in Venezuela. This source rock is called the La Luna Formation (Cretaceous in age).
Crude oil is produced worldwide from various locations, such as tradition oil wells, deep-sea (ocean) wells, oil shale fracturing, and Canadian tar sands. The cost to produce a barrel varies from about $20 per barrel in Saudi Arabia's desserts to $90 per barrel for some deep-water wells.
In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, production costs per barrel rarely exceeded $10 per barrel throughout the study period, and median costs were $5.40 a barrel. At the 95th percentile, the production cost was about $10 per barrel.
World Oil Reserves
The world has proven reserves equivalent to 46.6 times its annual consumption levels. This means it has about 47 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
Hong Kong is the most expensive place on Earth to fill up your car. Prices there are $4.32 a litre, substantially more than double the international average.
1. Hong Kong (Rs 242.5 / litre) Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and has the highest petrol price in the world at Rs 242.5 per litre - Which is a lot more than double of what we pay in India for a litre of petrol.
Hong Kong is widely recognised to have the most expensive petrol in the world at around $2.96 per litre. The country primarily relies on a small number of companies in Singapore to import petrol and transportation costs are high, with the costs reflected in what drivers are expected to pay at the pump.
There are three main factors which determine how fuel prices are set in Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states. These are weighing up market costs, the international benchmark prices, and keeping prices competitive with other sellers.
The US is the top producer of oil, but the country requires foreign imports to meet its increasing domestic demand. According to the IEA, the nation sources oil from as many as 73 countries around the globe. The top five are Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.
OPEC+ regulates the supply of oil to influence the price of the commodity on the world market. The group can achieve this by coordinating supply cuts when the price is deemed too low and supply increases when its members believe prices are too high.
Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world with more than 300 billion barrels in reserve. Saudi Arabia has the second-largest amount of oil reserves in the world with 297.5 billion barrels.
Luxembourg has the world's highest GDP per capita but no crude reserves. Lebanon, one of the poorest nations, is in the same position. Hong Kong is one of the smallest countries in the world geographically, while Kenya is among the largest. Neither has any proven reserves.
The best crude oil in the world is found in Malaysia. “Tapis, the Malaysian crude benchmark traded in Singapore, has for a long time held the title of the world's most expensive grade.
While the US is a leading producer of crude, it still imports much of its stock from other countries. The discrepancy didn't come from the price of the gasoline itself, but mostly from the taxes paid on the gas. In the US, gas taxes have always been shockingly low.
Average monthly gasoline retail prices Japan 2014-2022
As of December 2022, the average monthly gasoline retail price in Japan stood at about 167.9 Japanese yen per liter.
Cost of living comparison Australia vs UK: motoring
Brits, on the other hand, have some of the highest petrol prices in the world. At an average cost of £0.80 in Australia the Aussies pay almost £0.50 per litre less on petrol than their British mates. Buying a car is also approximately 35% cheaper in Australia.
Energy. A sudden loss of oil supplies would make it impossible to meet world energy needs. Countries have very varying stocks of natural gas which they could tap, and Johansen says such resources would be quickly depleted.
Global consumption of oil is currently estimated at roughly 96.5 million barrels per day. According to OPEC, global demand is expected to reach 109 million barrels per day. Estimations vary slightly, but it is predicted that - if demand forecasts hold - we will run out of oil from known reserves in about 47 years.
Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada are the three leading countries with the most oil reserves. Industry leader BP plc estimates that there are 1.73 trillion barrels of oil reserves globally. Approximately 80% of the world's oil reserves are in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).