For more than a century, Venezuela has been one of Latin America’s dominant oil producers, pumping crude from some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves. Guyana, by contrast, only joined the ranks of oil-producing nations in 2019.
Yet today, the gap between their daily production is far smaller than many might expect.
Guyana’s Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil and its co-venturers, is now producing oil at over 900,000 barrels per day (b/d) following the startup of Yellowtail, while Venezuela averaged approximately 1.16 million b/d in July 2026, according to data reviewed by Reuters.
The comparison becomes striking when population is added to the equation.
According to 2025 World Bank estimates, Venezuela has about 28.4 million people. Guyana’s Bureau of Statistics estimates the country’s population reached 1 million by the end of 2025. Even as Venezuela produces more oil overall, Guyana remains the world’s largest oil producer per capita. Once the Uaru project comes online, the country will produce more than one barrel of oil per person per day based on the Bureau’s estimate.
Being the world’s largest oil producer per capita does not mean producing the most oil. It measures how much oil a country produces relative to the size of its population. By that measure, Guyana’s offshore industry is unmatched, and growth is expected to continue.
ExxonMobil projects production capacity in the Stabroek Block will reach about 1.7 million b/d by 2030 as additional projects come online. Uaru and Whiptail are each designed to produce up to 250,000 b/d, while Hammerhead is expected to add another 150,000 b/d later in the decade. More than US$60 billion has already been invested across seven approved offshore developments.
Venezuela is also expected to increase production. PDVSA has indicated output could reach 1.37 million b/d by the end of 2026, continuing a recovery from earlier declines.
Even if both countries meet those production targets, Guyana’s position in the per capita rankings is unlikely to change.
