OPEC Oil Revenues Near $1 Trillion Again in 2012

In 2011, OPEC sold $1.03 trillion worth of oil, but that includes $98 billion in revenues allocated to Iran. Leaving Iran out, the 2011 total is $932 billion.

The OPEC total is the highest since the EIA began tracking this statistic in 1975. The largest portion went to Saudi Arabia, which claimed $311 billion in sales for 2012. The United Arab Emirates posted sales of $100 billion, Nigeria earned $93 billion, Kuwait earned $88 billion, and Iraq took in $83 billion to round out the top five.

In 2005 U.S. dollars, the OPEC total is $835 billion, with the Saudi share coming in at $285 billion.

For 2013, the EIA expects OPEC’s earnings to fall to $940 billion, then to $903 billion in 2014. The decline is due to increasing production in North America, particularly the U.S., where shale oil production continues to expand substantially. U.S. production is expected to reach 7.3 million barrels a day this year and 8.1 million barrels a day in 2014.

OPEC, the EIA, and the International Energy Agency all expect crude oil consumption to reach about 90 million barrels a day in 2013 and 91 million barrels a day next year.