09-01-03 The introduction of advanced oil exploration and drilling technology has boosted Abu Dhabi's offshore hydrocarbon yield. Production from two main fields has exceeded 400,000 bpd, according to official estimates. Crude oil output from the emirate's two giant offshore fields, Zakum and Umm Shaif, has peaked at 420,000 bpd and production could climb further in multi-billion dollar expansion programmes intended to fill any possible gap in global crude supplies.
Zakum alone currently produces 220,000 bpd, making it one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) said.

The field, which was first discovered in 1963 and commissioned four years later, has an area of around 1,270 sq km (508 square miles), almost double the area of Bahrain and more than a fifth the area of neighbouring Qatar.
"Zakum is one of the giant offshore oil fields in the world... it contains 321 producing wells with a combined output of 220,000 bpd," Adnoc said. "The field is located 65 km northwest of Abu Dhabi city and consists of five main layers... production and development first concentrated on the lower layers given their massive reserves but the process later covered all parts of the field with the introduction of new development and drilling technology that allowed for further output increases."

Zakum is operated by Abu Dhabi Marine Oil Operations Co (Adma-Opco), which also runs the other giant Umm Shaif oilfield, nearly 150 km northwest of Abu Dhabi. With an area of 360 sq km (144 square miles), Umm Shaif has 268 producing wells with an output of around 200,000 bpd.
"Umm Shaif began yielding before Zakum... oil was discovered in the field in 1958 at a depth of 8,755 feet... production has steadily increased over the years due to massive exploration and development programmes," it said. "Oil and gas deposits from the field are gathered by a giant complex called the Umm Shaif Super Complex, which was inaugurated in 1976... it has been through several stages of development and is now a major facility for gas gathering and processing."

Industry sources estimate crude reserves of the two fields to be at several bn barrels that could last more than 50 years at present output rates. Adma-Opco is the second biggest oil producer in the UAE after the Abu Dhabi Co for Onshore Operations (Adco), one of the largest oil firms in the world.
The two companies account for more than 80 % of Abu Dhabi's total crude oil production of nearly 1.8 mm bpd. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the UAE's cumulative oil output totalled 21.3 bn barrels since production started in 1962. At current prices, the total value of that production was estimated at around $ 315 bn.
Despite such a huge extracted quantity, the UAE's proven crude reserves have been massively revised up over the past decade from around 35 bn barrels to 98 bn barrels at the end of 2002.