UAE oil production rose by 80,000 bpd

The UAE's oil production increased by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June to 2.6 million bpd from 2.42 million bpd in May, latest figures from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) showed. "Output from the Upper Zakum field was curbed in May, but state-owned Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) reported production restored in June. UAE production in July, however, looks set to decline after Adnoc told customers that contract supplies of Murban crude would be cut by 10 per cent," said the IEA, which advises 28 industrialised nations on energy policy. Officials at the UAE's Ministry of Energy and Adnoc weren't immediately available for comment. The IEA also said the UAE's sustainable oil production capacity is set to increase to 2.74 million bpd by the end of 2011, from an estimated 2.69 million bpd. The UAE's capacity (is) expected to increase by around 175,000 bpd to 2.92 million bpd from third quarter 2011 to fourth quarter 2012, it added. "The Emirates is slated to bring online five different expansion projects with nameplate capacity of 420,000 bpd over the 2011-2012 period," said the IEA. "The international oil prices are expected to reach $150 a barrel this winter on increased global demand," K. Al Awadi, a UAE-based energy expert, told Gulf News. The UAE expects to produce around 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, down from a high for the year so far of 2.6 million bpd in June, a Gulf oil industry source told Reuters on Monday. "Production was a record high [for 2011] in June of around 2.6 and July will also around the 2.5 range but its too early to say what it will be," the source said on condition of anonymity. Opec output policy talks collapsed in June after several members of the producer group opposed a Saudi-led push to raise production. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, including the UAE, have since said they will supply as much crude as the market wants — without a formal Opec agreement. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced a plan last month to release 60 million barrels of emergency oil stocks to help fill a supply shortfall from the loss of Libyan crude since early 2011. Major consuming countries of the IEA are expected to decide by Saturday whether to draw further on their stocks, but Opec oil producers say the releases are unnecessary. From / Gulf News