The World’s 15 Biggest Oil Producers

Photo: Harald Sund | Image Bank | Getty Images || Source: Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy Unrest in the Middle East has put investors on high alert as crude oil prices move seemingly with every development in the region. In order to understand the effect of those events on both US and global oil markets, a key figure to watch is the amount of crude oil produced daily in each country. With data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a division of the Department of Energy, CNBC.com took a look at the countries that produce the most crude oil on a daily basis. Production is defined as extraction from the Earth’s crust, prior to the refining process. The numbers that follow are the most recent available from the EIA, dating from November 2010, unless otherwise noted. As a result, the numbers represent daily production levels of countries under normal circumstances prior to the recent events in the Middle East. Interestingly, Libya ranks as only the 17th largest oil producer in the world and imported 32,000 barrels of crude per day to the United States in December 2010, representing an average of approximately 0.37% of daily US crude imports that month. So, which countries produce the most crude oil? Click ahead for the top 15. By Paul ToscanoPosted 3 Mar 2011

Photo: Anna Henly | Workbook Stock | Getty Images Crude production: 2.14 million barrels per day Share of world production: 2.45%Daily crude exports to the US: 35,000* Proven reserves: 6.7 billion barrels Pictured: Kristin oil platform in North Sea, Norway *Export daily average in October 2010. From July-August 2010, daily exports ranged from 10,000 barrels to 31,000 barrels per day.

Photo: Scott Peterson | Getty Images News | Getty Images Crude production: 2.16 million barrels per dayShare of world production: 2.47%Daily crude exports to the US: 262,000 barrels Proven reserves: 12.2 billion barrelsPictured: Pipes carry oil at the southern complex refinery in Hassi Messaoud, Algeria.

Photo: Juan Barreto | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 2.35 million barrels per day Share of world production: 2.8%Daily crude exports to the US: 825,000 barrels Proven reserves: 99.4 billion barrels Pictured: View of an oil rig at Maracaibo Lake, located in the border state of Zulia, in western Caracas on October 27, 2010.

Photo: Essam Al-Sudani | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 2.39 million barrels per day Share of world production: 2.81%Daily crude exports to the US: 336,000 barrels Proven reserves: 115 billion barrels Pictured: The Iraqi oil tanker 'Dijla' is anchored at Basra harbour, 550 kms (340 miles) south of Baghdad, 17 December 2007.

Photo: Getty Images Crude production: 2.5 million barrels per day Share of world production: 2.93%Daily crude exports to the US: 125,000 barrels Proven reserves: 101.5 billion barrels Pictured: A Kuwait Oil Company drilling rig operates on the northern border between Iraq and Kuwait.

Photo: Jaques Lhuillery | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 2.51 million barrels per day Share of world production: 2.95%Daily crude exports to the US: 1.02 million barrels Proven reserves: 37.2 billion barrels Pictured: The FPSO Bonga (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading) facility 120 kms off the coast of Nigeria, south of Lago.

Photo: Vanderlai Almeida | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 2.75 million barrels per day Share of world production: 3.2%Daily crude exports to the US: 271,000 barrels Proven reserves: 12.8 billion barrels Pictured: General view of the bridge Rio/Niteroi in Rio de Janeiro taken on April 30, 2009.

Photo: Tom Stoddart | Getty Images Crude production: 2.81 million barrels per day Share of world production: 3.3%Daily crude exports to the US: 10,000 barrels* Proven reserves: 97.8 billion barrels Pictured: A pipeline in UAE carrying crude oil to a Dharan refinery and oil storage tanks before being loaded onto oil tankers.*Daily average in September 2010.

Photo: Alfredo Estrella | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 2.88 million barrels per dayShare of world production: 3.39%Daily crude exports to the US: 1.22 million barrels Proven reserves: 10.4 billion barrelsPictured: Two workers walk aboard the Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos) Ku-S oil processing center, part of the Ku-Maloob Zaap complex, in the Gulf of Mexico, off Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche state, Mexico.

Photo: David Boily | AFP | Getty Images Crude production: 3.7 million barrels per day Share of world production: 4.3%Daily crude exports to the US: 2.06 million barrels Proven reserves: 175.2 billion barrels Pictured: An oil rig in Big Valley, Alberta, Canada.

Photo: AP Crude production: 4.2 million barrels per day Share of world production: 4.9%Daily crude exports to the US: 0 Proven reserves: 137.6 billion barrels Pictured: Oil tankers pass through Haj Omran, on the Iranian border.

Photo: AP Crude production: 4.26 million barrels per day Share of world production: 5.0%Daily crude exports to the US: 8,000 barrels* Proven reserves: 20.4 billion barrels Pictured: Gas drilling rig operated by Chinese consortium in area near Japan's exclusive economic zone, East China Sea.*This export number represents the daily average for December 2010. In August, September and November, are no recorded daily export numbers from China to the US.

Photo: AP Crude production: 8.85 million barrels per day Share of world production: 10.4%Total crude imports: 8.63 million barrels per dayProven reserves: 19.2 billion barrels Pictured: Pump-jack silhouetted against the sky, Van, Texas.

Photo: AP Crude production: 9.91 million barrels per day Share of world production: 11.6%Daily crude exports to the US: 158,000 barrels Proven reserves: 60 billion barrelsPictured: Oil rig, Tyumen oil field, Siberia, Russia.

Photo: Pete Turner | Getty Images Crude production: 10.3 million barrels per dayShare of world production: 12.1%Daily crude exports to the US: 1.08 million barrels Proven reserves: 259.9 billion barrels Photo: Oil tanker at a fuel station in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

© 2012 CNBC.com