Country earned US$100bn in 2012, more than 10% of OPEC income The UAE earned around US$48 billion from oil exports in the first half of 2013 after netting its highest income in 2012 because of strong oil prices and high crude output. Figures by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy showed the UAE\'s oil export earnings hit a record high of US$100 billion in 2012, more than 10 per cent of OPEC\'s total income of nearly US$982 billion. The figures showed the UAE was the second largest earner in the 12-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2013 and in 2012 although it far lagged behind Iran in crude production. Saudi Arabia, the world\'s dominant oil exporter, earned around US$142 billion in the first half of 2013 and a record high of US$311 billion in 2012, nearly a third of OPEC\'s income. Iran\'s income was put at US$98 billion in 2011 but EIA gave no figures for 2012 and 2013, citing what it described as difficulties associated with estimating the country\'s earnings. In the first half of 2013, the income was estimated at US$44 billion for Kuwait, US$43 billion for Iraq, US$42 billion for Nigeria, US$33 billion for Angola, US$30 billion for Venezuela, US$29 billion for Algeria, US$26 billion for Qatar, US$24 billion for Libya and US$five billion for Ecuador. EIA estimated OPEC\'s combined income in 2012 at US$982 billion, excluding Iran, and around US$466 billion in the first half of 2013. It projected the cartel\'s earnings to fall to about US$940 billion in 2013 and nearly US$903 billion in 2014 due to an expected drop in crude prices. EIA\'s data showed OPEC\'s 10-year oil export earnings for 2005-2014 could reach a whopping US$7,991 billion. Source: Emirates 24?7