UAE accelerates plan to increase its oil production capacity

The United Arab Emirates has accelerated a plan to raise its oil production capacity, according to people familiar with the matter, as it tries to cash in on its crude reserves before the world transitions to cleaner energy.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which pumps almost all the UAE’s oil, wants to be able to produce 5 million barrels of crude a day by 2025, according to the people. That’s sooner than a previously disclosed aim of 2030.

The new target will be difficult to achieve and may increase the expense of a project that was already set to cost billions of dollars, the people said. Adnoc and the UAE government initially planned to bring the objective forward to 2027, before deciding on 2025, they said.

The UAE is pushing to sell more oil and natural gas while fossil fuel prices stay high. Oil soared to US$120 barrel following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While it’s slumped since June to around US$90, it’s still far above the UAE’s production costs.