Energy
From The Report: Abu Dhabi 2015
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The oil and gas sector accounts for 80% of the UAE government’s revenues and although current oil prices are a concern, the emirate’s focus on increasing production should ensure stable growth moving forward. While exploration is still a major activity, the emirate has increasingly focused on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology to recover heavier and harder to reach oil. The emirate has also seen an increase in the development of its sour gas reserves, which, although costly and difficult to extract, present many benefits in terms of boosting gas supply and supporting EOR operations. Meanwhile growing domestic demand has prompted the need to build additional refining capacity, with the energy sector’s downstream segment earmarked as an area for future expansion as a result.

This chapter contains an interview with Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, Director-General, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Investments in enhancing production offer opportunities for a wide range of companies
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It would be hard to overstate the importance of the oil industry to Abu Dhabi. The discovery of black gold in 1954 has led to a transformation of the emirate’s economy. Oil and gas contribute more than half of Abu Dhabi’s GDP – 54.6% of the total in 2013, according to the “Statistical Yearbook of Abu Dhabi 2014”, published by the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi. GROWING DEMAND: Domestic demand for energy is also growing strongly. Primary energy consumption in the UAE as a whole reached 97.1m…

Interview

Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, Director-General, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC): Interview
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Interview:Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi What can be done to further encourage operating partners to deploy proprietary technologies in their energy production? ABDULLA NASSER AL SUWAIDI: ADNOC aims to encourage and protect the intellectual rights of operating partners, while pursuing and employing the latest technologies in its activities for the benefit of ADNOC and its affiliates. We aim to maximise oil and gas production, while adhering to the highest standards of safety, health and environmental…

Analysis

Investments to enhance gas processing, transit and import infrastructure
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One of the most significant priorities for Abu Dhabi’s energy industry over the coming years will be to increase gas production to meet rising demand from a range of sectors. This also requires substantial investments in gas infrastructure, including in gas processing, transit and import facilities. Processing Player Much of Abu Dhabi’s existing gas-processing infrastructure is both owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO), a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).…

Analysis

Technological advances are helping to create new solutions for retailers and distributors
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While international attention has understandably focused on Abu Dhabi’s considerable upstream energy sector, and increasingly on midstream developments, the emirate is also home to a substantial and growing distribution and retail market. As suppliers to motorists, households, businesses and the transport sector, retailers and distributors play an essential role in the smooth running of the economy, as well as in urban development. In 2013, total sales of unleaded gasoline in Abu Dhabi reached…

Analysis

Although processing is a challenge, sour gas developments are boosting supply
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The UAE has the world’s seventh-largest proven natural gas reserves, at 215trn standard cu feet (scf), accounting for 3.3% of the global total. The country is also a net importer, as demand is growing. Consumption rose 4.5% in 2013 to 2.45trn scf, considerably more than the 1.97trn scf produced. Demand is being driven by consumption from households and industry, while a substantial amount of gas is reinjected as part of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Economic Case With demand so strong,…

Analysis

Growing demand is prompting the need to expand refining capacity
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Given that Abu Dhabi’s economic development strategy puts an emphasis on building value in sectors in which the emirate already has clear competitive advantages, the downstream oil industry is an obvious focus for investment. The country’s biggest refinery has doubled its capacity after a $10bn programme that has brought in contractors from around the world. Despite rising international competition and narrowing margins thanks to a drop in the oil price, Abu Dhabi’s refining sector is well…

Analysis

Creative solutions offer both efficiency and lower emissions
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The emirate’s aim to increase its output of crude oil from 2.8m to 3.5m barrels per day (bpd) by 2017 and its target of raising recovery rates to 70% are accelerating the long-anticipated development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This trend is providing increasing opportunities for international and domestic companies with experience in EOR technology. These technically challenging projects are in their early days, but have the benefits of increasing production and freeing up valuable natural…

Analysis

New challenges, particularly offshore, mean greater opportunities for service providers
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Even though substantial new oil discoveries are not expected in the near future, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is working to increase daily production at existing fields. As a result, the company and its partners are focusing on increasing production from existing fields, particularly offshore. This is creating a wealth of opportunities for companies, international and local, which can offer a range of services to oilfield operators, including engineering, procurement and construction…

Analysis

Improving the emirate’s skills base will be key to new developments
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One of the main goals of Abu Dhabi’s development strategy is to increase high-skilled employment among Emiratis, while another is strengthening local research and development (R&D), to boost innovation and value-added. Thus, development of the skills for the hydrocarbons sector is key. Abdul Munim Saif Al Kindy, deputy chairman of the Petroleum Institute (PI), told OBG, “To reach a target of a 70% recovery rate will require significant investment in R&D. However, the important thing to…

Analysis

Long-term planning is increasingly focusing on renewable alternatives
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Renewable energy should account for 7% of Abu Dhabi’s power generation capacity by 2020, the emirate’s government pledged in 2009 at the opening of the World Future Energy Summit, which was held in Abu Dhabi City. Most of this will come from solar power plants, which can capitalise on the emirate’s year-round sunshine. Abu Dhabi is already home to Shams 1, one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants. Masdar The development of renewable energy, as well as other green technologies,…