Let Snitz mainplain this to you! Back in 2019 the US & others began to sanction the crap out of Iran which drove down among other things the sales of their main producer of GDP, oil. Then China started being very very thirsty and needed additional sources of energy since they had insufficient oil at home.
Their primary new source was Russia. These revenues financed Putin's invasion of Ukraine and allowed Vlad to give the EU the finger. He was no longer beholden to them to generate petro revenue.
Meanwhile, Iran also found a limitless buyer for its crude. With the money rolling in, Iran could finance their proxies like Hezbollah, the Houthi Rebels and Hamas. Without this funding these guys could accomplish little.
Here's the important part. The US outproduces Iran by 4x and has an large surplus of oil not needed at home. They can partner with China to bring peace to the Middle East. Ergo, either Iran backs off the terrorism else China buys it's oil from Uncle Sam.
Visualizing the Rise of the U.S. as Top Crude Oil Producer
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Over the last decade, the United States has established itself as the world’s top producer of crude oil, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Russia.
This infographic illustrates the rise of the U.S. as the biggest oil producer, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
U.S. Takes Lead in 2018
Over the last three decades, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia have alternated as the top crude producers, but always by small margins.
During the 1990s, Saudi Arabia dominated crude production, taking advantage of its extensive oil reserves. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 42% of the country’s GDP, 87% of its budget revenues, and 90% of export earnings.
However, during the 2000s, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia in production during some years, following strategic investments in expanding its oil infrastructure. The majority of Russia’s oil goes to OECD Europe (60%), with around 20% going to China.
Over the 2010s, the U.S. witnessed an increase in domestic production, much of it attributable to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in the shale formations ranging from Texas to North Dakota. It became the world’s largest oil producer in 2018, outproducing Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. accounted for 14.7% of crude oil production worldwide in 2022, compared to 13.1% for Saudi Arabia and 12.7% for Russia.
Despite leading petroleum production, the U.S. still trails seven countries in remaining proven reserves underground, with 55,251 million barrels.
Venezuela has the biggest reserves with 303,221 million barrels. Saudi Arabia, with 267,192 million barrels, occupies the second spot, while Russia is seventh with 80,000 million barrels.
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