About Unted Arab Emirates
• Population: 7 million
• Seven states merged to form the United Arab Emirates in 1971
• Federation with specific powers delegated to the UAE federal government
• The UAE is an important producer of natural gas and oil, ranking seventh globally in total proven reserves of both.
• Abu Dhabi possesses the majority of oil and natural gas reserves and is producing 95% of UAE’s oil and gas
• The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), operating 14 subsidiaries which participate at every level of the oil and natural gas sectors
• International oil companies signed concessions in the 1930s. They became partners to ADNOC through the nationalization process.
• OPEC member
Oil
The plan is to expand oil production to some 3.5 million barrels per day. The biggest oil increment will come from the Upper Zakum field, one of the biggest offshore oil fields in the world, where ExxonMobil is planning to increase production to more than one million barrels per day.
The contract structure is based on a long-term, production-sharing basis with the state mandated to own a majority of the equity stake in a project, often through joint venture companies. Several contracts will expire in the years to come. The most noteworthy of the oil-producing consortia include the Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations (ADCO), and the Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO).
ADNOC is looking for innovative oil recovery techniques to maintain plateau rates at some of the existing fields.
Oil overview 2010
• Proven oil reserves: 98 billion barrels
• Oil production: 2,8 million barrels per day
• Oil consumption: 0,7 million barrels per day
The main oil companies partnering ADNOC
• Shell
• ExxonMobil
• Total
Natural Gas
Abu Dhabi holds the world’s fifth largest gas reserves, but is still faced with increasing gas demand and risk of severe gas shortages. Demand is increasing 15-20 percent per year. The country is importing gas from Qatar through the Dolphin pipeline system. Gas is demanded for reinjection into mature oil fields, power production and industrial usage. ADNOC is implementing a number of projects to meet the challenge. One of the major projects is planning to unlock reserves containing high levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Abu Dhabi is still exporting gas as LNG.
The gas industry
• Proven natural gas reserves: 6 trillion cubic meters
• Natural gas production: 51 billion cubic meters
• Natural gas consumption: 60 billion cubic meters
Main Markets
Other Priority Markets
Oil and Gas Advisor, Middle East
