Published on October 30, 2020

The Middle East is responsible for producing about 27% of world oil production.

While state-owned enterprises produce much of the oil, many international oil companies engage in oil production and related activities in the Middle East through joint ventures, production-sharing agreements, and other business models.

Oil Companies have been drilling for oil for nearly a century and a half. Technology has improved since then and crude oil has made all of our lives easier. The majority of oil is used to create fuel for transport. It is also used in the production of plastics, which have also seen substantial growth over the last century.

These are the top oil producers in the Middle East:

1. Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas industry is controlled by Saudi ARAMCO, which is controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals. The company is mostly state-owned but had an initial public offering of 1.5% of the company in December 2019. They produced some 10.130.000 barrels of oil per day in 2019. Saudi Aramco Chief Executive is Amin H. NASSER. He is also a member of Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors. NASSER served as Senior Vice President of Upstream at Saudi Aramco, a position he has held since 2008 with responsibilities including exploration, petroleum engineering, oil and gas production, and processing activities.
2. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), a state-own company. Since 1941, the National Iranian Oil Company has been responsible for organizing and policy-making activities of the oil industry, including exploration, drilling, production, research, and development, as well as oil and gas exports. Masoud KARBASIAN is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the company. NIOC produced in 2019 about 4.469.000 barrels of oil per day, even though this may vary due to sanctions placed upon the country.
3. Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) was founded in 1966 by the Iraqi government. It was empowered to operate all aspects of the oil industry in Iraq except for refining which was already being run by the Oil Refineries Administration (1952) and local distribution which was also already under government control. Is owned by the Government of Iraq. Oil production in 2019 was 4.454.000 barrels per day. Ahsan Abdul-Jabbar ISMAIL is the head of a recently-revived Iraq National Oil Company (INOC). The political changes in Iraq over the last decade have affected oil production.
4. Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) The Company was established in 1934 by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, now known as the British Petroleum Company, and Gulf Oil Corporation, now known as Chevron Corporation. It possibly produces in the region of 2.753.000 barrels of oil per day. The company is headquartered in Ahmadi, Kuwait, and is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, owned by the Government of Kuwait. The chairman of the company is Sanad Al-SANAD.
5. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is owned by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company was founded in 1971 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al NAHYAN. ADNOC produced 2.400.000 barrels of oil per day in 2019. ADNOC Group Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al JABER.
6. Qatar Petroleum was founded in 1974 and owned by the Government of Qatar. It is responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in the State of Qatar. Qatar Petroleum produced in 2019, 1.500.000 barrels of oil per day. Saad Sherida Al KAABI was appointed as the President& CEO of Qatar Petroleum in 2014. In 2018, Al KAABI was appointed Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Vice Chairman of QP Board, in addition to his role as the President and CEO.

This article was edited using the data from the Investopedia.com, Ussaudi.org, Middleeast-business.com, Oilandgas360.com, Aramco.com, Statista.com, Nioc.ir, Adnoc.ae, Kockw.com, and Globalfirepower.com.