- UAE is the fifth largest OPEC oil producer after Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran, accounting for 8% of total OPEC crude production and with a net export of around 2.5 million b/d of crude and condensate.
- UAE’s crude production has been declining at a rate of around 5.3%. The government intends to raise the oil production capacity using enhanced oil recovery [EOR] technology by 700,000 b/d to achieve a target capacity of 3.5 million b/d by 2018. However, UAE missed its target to increase crude production capacity by 8% to reach 3 million b/d by 2012 as projected (IEA WEO 2012).
- UAE’s additional gas production of over 300,000 boed has helped to reduce domestic crude consumption by about 12% and increased crude export by 4.4% in 2012.
- UAE’s energy diversity strategy set a target of 7% of energy consumption in 2020 to come from alternative energy sources (Bank Audi Sal, 2013).
- EOR methods have been used extensively for most of UAE’s oil fields and UAE started gas injection in some oil fields after water injection became less effective.
- However, EOR applied on the existing fields is probably only going to slow down field declines and Petrologica estimates that the UAE oil production by 2018 is likely to be around 2.5 million b/d rather than the targeted 3.5 million b/d. This is likely to limit UAE’s crude export capacity.
by Alexander Wilk // 1 February, 2013
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