In this article, we are going to discuss the 20 countries with the cheapest gas prices.
Supplying 40% of the entire global energy, oil is the world’s primary fuel. Gasoline is made when crude oil is broken into various petroleum products through a process of fractional distillation. Since gas is essential to running most internal combustion engine cars, it is the most popular petroleum product. The average price of gasoline in the world is currently around $5.11 per gallon.
Global Oil and Gas Market:
According to The Business Research Company, the global oil and gas market was valued at $6.99 trillion in 2022, and is expected to grow to $8.67 trillion in 2027, with a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period. The largest region in the global oil and gas market share is Asia Pacific, with North America coming in second.
The primary factors driving the growth of the industry include the rising demand for oil and gas, growing competition in the industry, financial capital, and public scrutiny. Furthermore, the rising oil and gas exploration activities and the increase in prices globally are also anticipated to drive the industry’s growth.
Why Gas is so Cheap in the U.S
As a general rule, richer countries have higher gas prices, while the prices in poorer countries or countries that produce and export oil are significantly lower. However, the U.S. is an exception to this rule and has surprisingly low gas prices, despite being among the Richest Countries in the World. The principal reason for this is that gas taxes have always been exceptionally low in America. The federal gas tax was first charged in 1932 at 1 cent per gallon and is now at 18.4 cents a gallon, but this tax has remained unchanged since 1993.
1 liter of gas in USA had an average price of $1.047 (or $3.965 a gallon) on the 9th of October 2023.
Artificial Intelligence in the Oil and Gas Industry:
Major players in the oil and gas industry are looking into big data analytics and AI to enhance decision making abilities and thus profits. AI will allow these companies to make better drilling and operational decisions, assist them in overcoming their challenges, and position them for long-term success.
Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) has deployed AI across its entire oil and gas supply chain, with over 160 active AI projects. It uses reinforcement learning in its exploration and drilling programme to reduce gas extraction costs. From machine learning to computer vision, deep learning to virtual assistants and autonomous vehicles to robotics, Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) has been focused on a range of technologies that have supported advances in AI. In fact, the oil giant also offers an AI Residency Program, which gives data scientists and AI engineers experience with several AI projects across the company.
Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) ranks among the 10 Best ADR Stocks to Buy Now.
The Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is another major player that has prominently adopted a digital mindset in the oil and gas sector. The Texas-based company has collaborated with IBM’s Data Science and AI Elite Team and seismic experts to use AI to interpret and integrate data from siloed systems into one repository, which is hosted on a multi-cloud environment. The Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is also enhancing its customers’ experience at the pump by offering mobile apps for payment options, customer loyalty programs, and comprehensive car maintenance experiences. In fact, the Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World in 2023.
Shares of XOM were held by 71 hedge funds in the Insider Monkey database at the end of Q2 this year.
With that said, here are the Countries with the Cheapest Gas in the World.
Photo by Juan Fernandez on Unsplash
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we have referred to GlobalPetrolPrices, looking for Countries with the Lowest Prices of Gas. The following countries have been ranked according to their gasoline prices on the 9th of October 2023.
If you also wish to read about countries with the most expensive gas prices in the world, here are the 30 Countries with the Highest Gas Prices.
20. Belarus
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.711
Despite having the world’s third-largest production of peat and small amounts of crude oil, Belarus depends heavily on Russia for its fossil fuel needs. Belarus is a sizable East European refiner, reliant on Russian crude, and before the invasion of Ukraine was also a significant exporter of oil products to its southern neighbor.
19. Ecuador
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.4
Ecuador held 0.5% of the global share of oil reserves in 2022, making it the fourth-highest in Latin America and the Caribbean, with approximately 8.27 billion barrels. In 2022, the country produced approximately 482,000 barrels per day of petroleum and other liquids.
18. Saudi Arabia
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.351
It comes as no surprise that Saudi Arabia makes it in our list of Countries with the Cheapest Gas. After all, the Middle Eastern Country was the second-largest oil producer in the world last year, with a share of 13.2% in the global crude oil production.
The country’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, boasted a massive revenue of $535.2 billion last year, up 49% from 2021.
1 liter of petrol in Saudi Arabia is currently priced at $0.621.
17. Oman
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.35
Oman is the largest oil and natural gas producer in the Middle East that is not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country can produce upwards of one million barrels per day of crude oil and condensates, but honors OPEC quotas.
16. Azerbaijan
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.227
Azerbaijan has a mature oil and gas sector and has produced hydrocarbons for almost 150 years now. The main destinations for crude petroleum exports from Azerbaijan are Italy, Israel, and Croatia.
Azerbaijan is counted among the Top Oil Producing Countries in the World.
15. Qatar
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.183
Qatar, one of OPEC’s longest-standing members, left the organization in January 2019 to shift more of its resources and investment from oil production to natural gas and LNG infrastructure projects. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Qatar’s earnings from its hydrocarbon sector accounted for 81% of the country’s total government revenues in 2021, up from 77% in 2020.
14. Iraq
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.168
Iraq is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, holding the world’s fifth-largest proved crude oil reserves, at 145 billion barrels. Iraq’s oil production amounted to roughly 4.5 million barrels per day in 2022.
13. Russia
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.112
Although Russia is the third-largest producer of oil in the world, the country’s oil industry has recently been facing a number of problems, including sanctions from the West for its invasion of Ukraine, reduction in output from brownfields in Western Siberia, rising costs, and the high carbon intensity of the country’s oil production.
12. Bolivia
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.049
Oil has been known to exist in Bolivia since the colonial period, but serious exploration did not begin until the beginning of the twentieth century. The South American country has more than 240.95 million barrels of proved crude oil reserves as of 2022. Bolivia also has two oil refineries and meets most of its petroleum needs through local production.
11. Bahrain
Price of Gas per Gallon: $2.008
As a small non-OPEC Gulf oil producer with approximately 124.6 million barrels of proved reserves, Bahrain receives its oil revenues from two fields – the onshore Bahrain field and the offshore Abu Safah field, which is shared with Saudi Arabia.
The oil sector has been the second-largest contributor to Bahrain’s real GDP in Q2 of this year, at 17.1%. The financial sector made up the largest segment, with its size reflecting the government’s focus on financial technology and digital banking.
10. Kazakhstan
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.721
Kazakhstan has the largest proven oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region, and the country’s crude and condensate output in 2021 was 1.8 million barrels per day. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is the largest private oil producer in Kazakhstan, holding important stakes in two of the nation’s biggest oil-producing fields – Tengiz and Karachaganak. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is also the largest private shareholder in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The Caspian Pipeline provides an important export route for crude oil from Tengiz and Karachaganak. A major expansion of the pipeline was recently completed.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) ranks among the 12 Best Dividend Stocks for Passive Income.
9. Malaysia
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.642
In 2022, Malaysia produced approximately 567 thousand barrels of oil per day, a decrease of 8.8% from the 622 thousand barrels of daily oil production capacity in 2020. The country is also a big exporter of crude oil, with $6.59 billion worth exported in 2021.
Malaysia sits among the Largest Oil Producing Countries in Asia.
8. Turkmenistan
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.625
Turkmenistan is an important oil producer in Central Asia, with current output of about 8 million mt/year. The country plans to offer two offshore blocks for exploration of crude oil in 2023, near an area of the Caspian Sea that is currently producing 1 million barrels per day.
Turkmenistan ranks among the Top 10 Countries with the Cheapest Petrol Prices in the World.
7. Egypt
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.409
Egypt has significant energy resources, both in traditional fossil fuels and in renewable energy. As of January 2021, the country has proved oil reserves of 3.3 billion barrels. Egypt also exported $3.69 billion worth of crude petroleum in 2021.
6. Angola
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.375
Aside from being the second-largest oil producing country in Africa, Angola also gives gas subsidies to its people and doesn’t add taxes to the pump price. However, despite its high oil production, Angola meets most of its petroleum needs from exports, as the southern African nation currently has only one operational refinery located near the capital Luanda. A new refinery in Cabinda is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by mid-2024.
Angola ranks 6th in our list of Countries with the Cheapest Gas in 2023.
5. Kuwait
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.286
Among Gulf states, gas prices remain the cheapest in Kuwait. The low price in Kuwait is due to the support provided by the government to all consumers, citizens and expatriates alike. According to figures, the country’s annual cost of fuel (gasoline – diesel) is about 976 million dinars ($3.15 billion), while the selling price is about 651 million ($2.1 billion), which means that the difference exceeds 300 million dinars ($1.05 billion). Given that the percentage of expatriates who have driving licenses constitutes about 55% of the total number of granted licenses in Kuwait, around half of the government’s fuel subsidy goes to support the expat consumption of gas.
Kuwait is a major oil producer and a member of the OPEC consortium. Oil accounts for nearly half of the country’s GDP, and around 95% of exports revenue.
4. Algeria
Price of Gas per Gallon: $1.267
Algeria imports very little energy as its domestic consumption is met by its own oil and natural gas production, which is heavily subsidized. Oil production accounts for nearly all of the North African country’s export economy, with 60% of Algeria’s entire production going towards exports.
Last year, Algeria completed work on a crude oil refining project in Hassi Messaoud, the largest oil city in the country, to pump 60,000 barrels per day.
3. Venezuela
Price of Gas per Gallon: $0.132
Venezuela is home to some of the largest oil reserves in the world. According to the 2022 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Venezuela has more proved oil reserves than any other country. In addition to that, the government also heavily subsidizes gas prices in order to make it more affordable for the public. However, it must be mentioned that Venezuela is currently going through a severe economic crisis and the dirt-cheap gas prices are in no way indicative of a prosperous or stable economy.
2. Libya
Price of Gas per Gallon: $0.116
Libya has some of the cheapest fuel prices in the world. The gas price is determined by the National Oil Corporation and is heavily subsidized by the government. The price of Libyan gasoline is, in fact, even cheaper than water.
Libya is one of the top oil producers in Africa and exported around $27 billion of crude in 2021.
1. Iran
Price of Gas per Gallon: $0.108
For Iranians, cheap gasoline is practically considered a birthright, as their country holds the world’s fourth-largest crude oil reserves in the world. Heavy state subsidies have been keeping gas prices low, however, due to the widening gap between supply – which is limited by domestic refining capacity – and rising demand, the government has been forced to tap its strategic reserves and import petrol for the first time in a decade. The $0.108 price is paid for a monthly quota of around 16 gallons and roughly doubles for any amount beyond that threshold.
Iran is the Country with the Lowest Gas Prices in the World.
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Disclosure: None. 20 Countries with the Cheapest Gas Prices is originally published on Insider Monkey.
