“Mexico has one of the biggest oil preserves [sic] in the World”
As I wrote a few months ago, Mexico is approaching the point at which its oil production is going to be less than the amount of oil it consumes. The idea that Mexico is swimming in oil is about as accurate as Obama saying the United States is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.
It may well be that Mexico’s problems have more to do with the nationalization of the country’s oil under Pemex, and that if new drilling happened, new reserves would be found, but as of now that’s not proven.
This is the table of proven oil reserves from Wikipedia:
| Country | Reserves (bbl) | Share of World % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saudi Arabia (more information) |
264,600,000,000 | 19.00% |
| 2 |  Canada (more information) |
175,200,000,000 | 12.58% |
| 3 |  Iran (more information) |
137,600,000,000 | 9.88% |
| 4 |  Iraq (more information) |
115,000,000,000 | 8.26% |
| 5 |  Kuwait (more information) |
104,000,000,000 | 7.47% |
| 6 |  United Arab Emirates (more information) |
97,800,000,000 | 7.02% |
| 7 |  Venezuela (more information) |
97,770,000,000 | 7.02% |
| 8 |  Russia (more information) |
74,200,000,000 | 5.33% |
| 9 |  Libya (more information) |
47,000,000,000 | 3.38% |
| 10 |  Nigeria (more information) |
37,500,000,000 | 2.69% |
| 11 |  Kazakhstan |
30,000,000,000 | 2.15% |
| 12 |  Qatar |
25,410,000,000 | 1.82% |
| 13 |  China |
20,350,000,000 | 1.46% |
| 14 |  United States (more information) |
19,120,000,000 | 1.37% |
| 15 |  Angola |
13,500,000,000 | 0.97% |
| 16 |  Algeria |
13,420,000,000 | 0.96% |
| 17 |  Brazil |
13,200,000,000 | 0.95% |
| 18 |  Mexico (more information) |
12,420,000,000 | 0.89% |
| 19 |  Azerbaijan |
7,000,000,000 | 0.50% |
| 20 |  Sudan |
6,800,000,000 | 0.49% |
| 21 |  Norway |
6,680,000,000 | 0.48% |
| 22 |  Ecuador |
6,542,000,000 | 0.47% |
| 23 |  India |
5,800,000,000 | 0.42% |
| 24 |  Oman |
5,500,000,000 | 0.39% |
| — |  European Union |
5,453,000,000 | 0.39% |
| 25 |  Vietnam |
4,700,000,000 | 0.34% |
| 26 |  Egypt |
4,300,000,000 | 0.31% |
| 27 |  Indonesia |
4,050,000,000 | 0.29% |
| 28 |  Australia |
3,318,000,000 | 0.24% |
| 29 |  Yemen |
3,160,000,000 | 0.23% |
| 30 |  United Kingdom |
3,084,000,000 | 0.22% |
| 31 |  Malaysia |
2,900,000,000 | 0.21% |
| 32 |  Syria |
2,500,000,000 | 0.18% |
| 33 |  Argentina |
2,386,000,000 | 0.17% |
| 34 |  Gabon |
2,000,000,000 | 0.14% |
| 35 |  Colombia |
1,900,000,000 | 0.14% |
| 36 |  Congo, Republic of the |
1,600,000,000 | 0.11% |
| 37 |  Chad |
1,500,000,000 | 0.11% |
| 38 |  Brunei |
1,100,000,000 | 0.08% |
| 39 |  Equatorial Guinea |
1,100,000,000 | 0.08% |
| 40 |  Denmark |
1,060,000,000 | 0.08% |
| 41 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
728,300,000 | 0.05% |
| 42 |  Romania |
600,000,000 | 0.04% |
| 43 |  Turkmenistan |
600,000,000 | 0.04% |
| 44 |  Uzbekistan |
594,000,000 | 0.04% |
| 45 |  Timor-Leste |
553,800,000 | 0.04% |
| 46 |  Peru |
470,800,000 | 0.03% |
| 47 |  Bolivia |
465,000,000 | 0.03% |
| 48 |  Pakistan |
436,200,000 | 0.03% |
| 49 |  Thailand |
430,000,000 | 0.03% |
| 50 |  Tunisia |
425,000,000 | 0.03% |
But let’s look at it a bit differently – how many barrels of oil reserves does the country have per person?
| Country | Reserves (milion bbl) |
Population (millions) | BBLs per capita | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (more information) |
264,600 | 26 | 10,176 |
| 2 | Canada (more information) |
175,200 | 34 | 5,152 |
| 3 | Iran (more information) |
137,600 | 77 | 1,797 |
| 4 | Iraq (more information) |
115,000 | 30 | 3,833 |
| 5 | Kuwait (more information) |
104,000 | 2.5 | 4,160 |
| 6 | United Arab Emirates (more information) |
97,800 | 5 | 19.560 |
| 7 | Venezuela (more information) |
97,770 | 27 | 3,621 |
| 8 | Russia (more information) |
74,200 | 138 | 465 |
| 9 | Libya (more information) |
47,000 | 8 | 5,875 |
| 10 | Nigeria (more information) |
37,500 | 155 | 241 |
| 11 | Kazakhstan |
30,000 | 15 | 2,000 |
| 12 | Qatar |
25,410 | 0.8 | 31,762 |
| 13 | China |
20,350 | 1,336 | 15 |
| 14 | United States (more information) |
19,120 | 313 | 61 |
| 15 | Angola |
13,500 | 13 | 1,038 |
| 16 | Algeria |
13,420 | 35 | 383 |
| 17 | Brazil |
13,200 | 203 | 65 |
| 18 | Mexico (more information) |
12,420 | 113 | 109 |
| 19 | Azerbaijan |
7,000 | 8 | 875 |
| 20 | Sudan |
6,800 | 45 | 151 |
| 21 | Norway |
6,680 | 4.6 | 1,452 |
| 22 | Ecuador |
6,542 | 15 | 436 |
| 23 | India |
5,800 | 1,189 | 4 |
| 24 | Oman |
5,500 | 3.0 | 1,821 |
| — | European Union |
5,453 | 501 | 10 |
| 25 | Vietnam |
4,700 | 90 | 52 |
| 26 | Egypt |
4,300 | 82 | 52 |
| 27 | Indonesia |
4,050 | 245 | 16 |
| 28 | Australia |
3,318 | 22 | 150 |
| 29 | Yemen |
3,160 | 24 | 131 |
| 30 | United Kingdom |
3,084 | 62 | 49 |
