Africa's 10 largest oil producers - Egypt 'only' at number 5

Nigeria is the top oil producer in Africa (Image: Getty Images)

New research has been published which shows the top five oil producing countries and you might be surprised at which ones made the top list.

According to Statista, Nigeria was the leading oil producer in 2023 - its oil production amounted to 74 million metric tonnes in the country.

Africa is known for its rich culture, beautiful landscapes and its vast natural resources. The continent has a wealth of agricultural and mineral resources with several of its nations establishing themselves as top producers.

These leading nations play a key role in Africa’s economic development and prospects. Next in highest production was Algeria, then Libya and Angola - each with an output of above 55 million metric tonnes.

In 2023, production of oil in Africa reached 341.5 million metric tonnes.

Algeria is another major producer of oil in the continent (Image: Getty Images)

Nigeria was not only the biggest oil producer in Africa, but also the largest crude oil exporter in the continent. The country sold nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil daily to the international market in 2022.

Angola and Libya followed, with an export volume of roughly 1.1 million and 920,000 barrels per day, respectively.

This oil refinery in India is the world's largest (Image: Getty Images)

North and West Africa's contribution to the global oil exports reached nearly eight percent as of 2023.

In the rest of the world, major oil producers include the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada and Iraq.

The world’s biggest oil refinery is in the Indian state of Gujarat. The Jamnagar refinery is a private-sector crude oil factory in the city of Jamnagar located. It was commissioned on 14 July 1999, and it is owned by Reliance Industries in Jamnagar, India.