UAE’s ADNOC Can Lift Oil Production By ‘Several Hundred Thousand’ Bpd

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has the ability to raise its oil production by "several hundred thousand" barrels per day, the state-run oil firm of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Tuesday.

ADNOC confirmed that its current crude oil production capacity stands at 3.3 million bpd, and stays on track to boost its production capacity to 3.5 million bpd by the end of this year.

"ADNOC has the ability to increase oil production by several hundred thousand barrels of oil per day, should this be required to help alleviate any potential supply shortage in the market," the company said in a statement, as carried by the Emirates news agency WAM.

ADNOC is ready to boost its production and is working in close cooperation with the UAE's Ministry of Energy and Industry, the state-run oil company said.

Abu Dhabi holds most of the oil resources of the UAE, whose crude oil production was 2.865 million bpd in May, according to OPEC's secondary sources.

According to industry sources who spoke to Reuters, the UAE's oil production was 2.87 million bpd in June, basically flat compared to May and just in line with its production quota of 2.874 million bpd under the original OPEC deal.

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Compared to the production capacity that ADNOC says it has-3.3 million bpd-the UAE may have the ability to raise its oil production by around 400,000 bpd from the June levels to its current maximum capacity. Another 200,000 bpd could be squeezed out if ADNOC achieves its target to raise production capacity to 3.5 million bpd by the end of this year.

Yet, analysts don't believe that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies the UAE and Kuwait, as well as Russia-considered to be the few countries within the OPEC+ deal capable of boosting production-will be able and willing to increase their production close to their maximum capacity and leave the market with a thin spare capacity cushion in case of additional potential supply disruptions.

Earlier this week, the White House dismissed a suggestion that President Trump made in a tweet that Saudi Arabia was ready and willing to increase oil production by up to 2 million bpd to compensate for declines in Venezuela and Iran.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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