Offshore reserves will account for about half of total oil production in Abu Dhabi by 2018, according independent news agency UAE Interact (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2015). Currently about 40% of oil produced in Abu Dhabi comes from offshore reserves.
The news agency said Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) plans to spend $25 billion on offshore oil projects over the next 5 years (OGJ Online, Oct. 20, 2014). ADNOC’s investment plan is part of the UAE’s strategy to boost total oil output capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2017-18 from the current 2.8 million b/d, the news agency reported.
Worldwide, about 30% of oil produced comes from offshore wells, UAE Interact said.
The agency, citing a 2014 report from Total SA, said that deepwater is believed to contain more than 5%, or about 300 billion bbl, of the world’s liquid hydrocarbon resources, or 12% of total conventional oil resources. The same document stated that in 2013, deepwater liquid reserves accounted for 6% of global production. That share is forecast to rise to nearly 11% of conventional oil output, or 9 million b/d, by 2035.
