An important announcement has been made this Friday by a Dubai official, that the production of oil on a newly discovered oilfield in Persian Gulf, Al Jalila should begin by the end of the year. In this year of global financial crisis from this new maritime oil field the production of crude in Dubai should significantly increase, said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, an official from the ruler’s office, but still with no specification about the production levels or how big the find is.
Shaikh Ahmad, who is also the chairman of the Gulf’s largest Emirates’ bank NBD, told reporters that local banks in Dubai have sufficient liquidity and lots of cash to bear the global crisis, but added that some local firms that do business with Europe might still have problems. He believes that the business in Dubai is doing well especially in recent years despite the economic bust in other sectors like construction, tourism and exports.
The UAE controls the world’s fifth largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 97.8 billion barrels of crude oil. However, 95 percent of those reserves are controlled by the leading partner in the federation, Abu Dhabi.
The UAE also has 214.4 trillion cubic feet (six trillion cubic meters) of gas reserves, ranking it sixth in the world. The discovery is also important because Dubai’s small oil reserves, mostly offshore, are expected to be completely dried out within the next 20 years, notes the UAE government.
The UAE, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, presently pumps about 2.25 million barrels a day. (Source: www.yallafinance.com)
