Abu Dhabi is playing a major role in the UAE's oil and gas sector.

The emirate has made plans and initiated projects in both the upstream and downstream sectors to enhance UAE's strong position in the global arena. The UAE expects to increase its crude oil production by eight per cent to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) by the first quarter of 2006, up from the current level of 2.5 million bpd, Oil Minister Mohammed Al Hamli said.
Hamli said the UAE would increase production by 100,000 bpd in the last quarter of 2005 and add another 100,000 bpd during the first quarter of 2006.
Hamli said the increase in production would come mainly from onshore oilfields without naming them.
Hamli also said the UAE was studying plans to increase the country's refining capacity from the current level of 514,250 bpd, but added this was only in the preliminary stages. The UAE has two refineries operated by Adnoc.
Abu Dhabi also plans to build a refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day in the emirate of Fujairah, a report said.
Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) will build the refinery with an investment of $4 billion.
The Ruwais refinery with a capacity of 145,000 bpd, producing light products mainly for export to Japan and elsewhere in Asia, and Umm Al-Nar with a capacity of 88,000 bpd.
Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco), a unit of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has awarded US engineering firm Fluor a $999 million contract to build the first stage of the Habshan gas complex expansion, its state gas company said.
Gasco is leading a drive to boost gas production in the UAE from five billion cubic feet per day to around seven billion.
"The package-1 project targets to increase the capacity of the pressure boosting units to feed the additional associated gas from Bab oilfield for processing in the current gas treatment trains of the complex," Gasco said of the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPC) contract.
The project includes installing two new sulphur recovery units with total output capacity of 1,600 tonnes per day, an acid gas enrichment unit as well as additional process and utilities units and upgrade of existing control systems.
The complex has a current gas processing capacity of around 3.3 billion cubic feet per day.
The project is scheduled for completion within 32 months, including successful test runs.
The UAE, which pumps about 2.4 million barrels per day of crude, is home to the world's fifth biggest gas reserves at 213.9 trillion cubic feet.
In February, Bechtel won a $1.5 billion contract for phase three of the Habshan onshore gas deal to lift pumping rates by 1.3 billion cfd and help boost pressure in oilfields via re-injection.
In July, Bechtel got a $1.2 billion deal for the construction of the second phase of the Asab gas project. The contracts are among five packages in Adnoc's onshore gas development scheme.
The Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations has awarded a $354 million contract to National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) to carry out the third phase of its gas development in the Bab field.
The project, known as OGD III-Upstream, will be completed by the end of July 2007.
The project aims to raise natural gas production capacity to three times its current level at the Thumama field.
The gas will be pumped through a huge pipeline network to specialised firms in Gasco in OGD III-Downstream in the Bab Area.
NPCC will install systems to collect and re-inject gas, and set up an additional 400 kilometre pipeline network.
The company will also develop five remote gas collector stations and will set up a sixth gas station.
Bechtel earlier carried out a survey in 2003, which was supervised by Gasco.
Exxon Mobil Corp hopes to conclude a deal to develop a large Abu Dhabi oilfield in the next couple of months, with only a handful of items left to finalise, a top executive said.
Exxon was selected by the UAE for exclusive talks in April to obtain a 28 per cent stake in the Upper Zakum field, among the world's largest oilfields.
Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, hopes to sign the long-awaited deal before the end of the year, said Tim Cejka, who oversees Exxon's exploration operations.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco has signed a contract with National Petroleum Construction Co (NPCC) of Abu Dhabi to upgrade facilities at North Safanyia offshore oilfield in the Arabian Gulf, Aramco said.
The project involves the installation of 42 electric submersible pumps on seven existing platforms, it said.
In another development, the Dolphin Gas Project is on track to deliver gas next year as construction of two offshore production platforms in Qatar nears completion and another project is about to start in Abu Dhabi, a company spokesman said.
"The Dolphin Gas Project is on schedule with construction under way in all areas. Dolphin is currently completing erection of its two offshore gas production platforms in Qatar's North Field. It is drilling the associated gas wells to supply the project and is working on the foundations and initial construction of the gas processing plant at Qatar's Ras Laffan," the spokesman said.
Dolphin Energy has also signed a $1 billion Islamic financing agreement with 14 banks for its project to develop and transfer gas from Qatar to the UAE.
The $1 billion Islamic financing facility is by far the largest Sharia compliant oil and gas financing transaction to date, said Aref Kooheji, executive vice-president and head of corporate and investment banking for Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), a lead bank.
Dolphin initiative is scheduled to come onstream at the end of next year.
The Abu Dhabi Polymers Company's (Borouge) plans to triple production is expected to meet rising demand in Asia and the Middle East and possibly Europe, the company's chief Harri Bucht said.
He said that despite the cyclical nature of the petrochemical industry and demand volatility, Borouge's technology and value-added products would ensure growth in sales.
Borouge has awarded project management consultancy (PMC) and financial advisory contracts for a proposed major expansion of its world scale petrochemical complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Project Management Consultancy (PMC) was awarded to Foster Wheeler International and the financial advisory contract to HSBC, the company said.
Takreer has awarded a contract to US-based Washington Group International's subsidiary, Washington Enterprises Emirates LLC (WEEL) to perform front-end engineering and design services for a sulphur-handling facility.
Meanwhile, Adnoc subsidiary the National Drilling Company (NDC) took delivery of a new offshore rig.
Delivery of the new rig, named Al Hail, built by Singapore's Keppel Fels Ltd, took place at a ceremony at Mina Zayed in the presence of Yousef Omair Bin Yousef, Secretary-General of the Supreme Petroleum Council and Adnoc Chief Executive.
NDC now has 10 offshore rigs, 16 onshore rigs and five water well rigs.
In the 33 years since NDC was set up, over 4,000 oil wells have been drilled, exceeding 21.5 million feet.
Austrian oil firm OMV and Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) have closed their purchase of Statoil's half of Denmark-based petrochemicals group Borealis, OMV said.
The UAE says it wants natural gas to make up 20 per cent of the country's traffic fuel consumption by 2012.
Efforts to privatise Taiwan state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) are not making much headway, despite IPIC offering to buy up to 20 per cent of it for $5 billion.