OPEC’s 2022 Annual Statistical Bulletin launched in Vienna

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) today launched its flagship Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB) 2022. The event was held in a hybrid format.

Dr Ayed Al-Qahtani, Director of Research Division, in charge of the OPEC Secretariat, and Dr Jakob Müllner, Associate Professor and Academic Director at the WU Executive Academy, the sponsor of the launch, delivered remarks at the event. A broad range of industry stakeholders attended the event, which was livestreamed via the Organization’s website and YouTube account.

In its 57th edition, the ASB continues to provide an extensive range of statistical data on nearly all aspects of the oil and gas industry, ranging from exploration and production to refining and transportation.

The publication has become a highly relied-upon source for statistics on the oil and gas activities of OPEC’s 13 Member Countries: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, IR Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. It also provides data for other producers by geographical region and covers the world’s major economic areas.

Dr Müllner, in his welcome address, said that it is “an honour for the WU Executive Academy to sponsor the launch of OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin 2022,” adding, “We are happy to have such a positive relationship” with neighbouring institutions, such as OPEC. “OPEC has been a valuable partner for our activities in research and teaching,” he stated.

In his remarks, Dr Al-Qahtani highlighted that “the ASB, through more than five decades of being published, has become a highly sought-after and trusted resource for stakeholders across the industry.”

Dr Al-Qahtani noted that the publication’s readers have increasingly turned to the ASB as “a go-to reference tool for essential data on the global oil and gas industry,” adding, “What they glean from the pages of the ASB will help them both form their insights and inform their decisions.”

“OPEC is dedicated to enhancing data transparency through broad dissemination of accurate and timely oil and gas data, not only through the ASB, but through all of our publications. Indeed, maintaining transparency in all that we do underpins our core goal of establishing sustainable oil market stability,” Dr Al-Qahtani stated.

Following the opening remarks, a panel discussion with key OPEC experts was held focusing on the highlights of this year’s ASB, which included:

1. After witnessing an historical drop in 2020 after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, total world crude oil production increased in 2021 by 0.52 million barrels/day (mb/d) or 0.8 per cent, as compared to 2020, for an average of 69.64 mb/d. OPEC crude oil production rose year-on-year by 0.70 mb/d, or 2.7 per cent, while crude production by non-OPEC countries fell slightly by 0.18 mb/d, or 0.4 per cent.
    
2. With an average of 96.92 mb/d in 2021, world oil demand rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic to grow by 5.74 mb/d y-o-y, or by 6.3 per cent. Although oil demand grew year-on-year in every region, the largest gains were recorded for OECD Americas, OECD Europe and China. Oil demand in OPEC Member Countries was bullish in 2021, gaining 5.3 per cent y-o-y. Distillates and gasoline accounted for around 55.2 per cent of 2021 world oil demand with an upward trend. Residual fuel oil requirements were about 6.6 per cent of total oil demand in 2021.
    
3. World refinery capacity gained by 0.28 m barrels/calendar day (b/cd) to stand at 101.70 mb/cd during 2021. The non-OECD region, particularly the Middle East and China, as well as Africa and India recorded refining capacity additions. Refinery capacity in the OECD declined for the third consecutive year in 2021. Globally, refinery throughput increased by 5.1 per cent to reach 81.82 mb/d in 2021 amid bullish oil demand.
    
4. OPEC Member Countries exported an average of 19.66 mb/d of crude oil in 2021, a slight decrease of about 0.04 mb/d, or 0.2 per cent, compared to 2020 and remaining below pre-pandemic levels. Following the pattern seen in previous years, the bulk of crude oil from OPEC Member Countries — 14.24 mb/d or 72.4 per cent — was exported to Asia. Considerable volumes of crude oil — about 3.27 mb/d — were also exported to Europe in 2021, compared with 3.13 mb/d recorded in 2020. OECD Americas imported 0.94 mb/d of crude oil from OPEC Member Countries, which was about 0.10 mb/d, or 11.5 per cent, above 2020 volumes. Exports of petroleum products from OPEC Member Countries averaged 4.03 mb/d during 2021, up by around 0.551 mb/d, or 15.8 per cent, compared to 2020. Imports of petroleum products by OPEC Member Countries averaged at 1.50 mb/d in 2021, roughly 0.015 mb/d, or 1.0 per cent, lower than in 2020.
    
5. World proven crude oil reserves stood at 1,545 billion barrels (bn b) at the end of 2021, roughly at 2020 levels. Proven crude oil reserves in OPEC Member Countries declined marginally to 1,242 bn b at the end of 2021, following an increase during 2020. At the end of 2021, world proven natural gas reserves fell by 0.5 per cent to approximately 205.9 trillion standard cubic metres (tr s cu m). Proven natural gas reserves in OPEC Member Countries stood at 74.24 tr s cu m at the end of 2021, up 0.8 per cent from the level at the end of 2020.
    
6. The OPEC Reference Basket averaged $69.89/b in nominal terms during 2021, up from $41.47/b in 2020, an increase of $28.42/b, or 68.5 per cent.

The discussion was followed by a Q&A session with attending journalists and analysts. A special video highlighting the publication’s key findings was also screened during the event.

In effort to facilitate access to the publication, this year’s edition of the ASB is available as an interactive version and a PDF on the OPEC website, as well as through a smart app compatible with iOS and Android platforms.