Oil representatives announced mid last week that the UAE is to invest $1.2 billion in a major new oil field between Sharjah and Fujairah, according to Al-Khaleej newspaper. The oil department in Sharjah, however, denied press reports of the discovery on Friday, July 10.
Al-Khaleej reported that according to oil officials in Shajah stated that drilling on the first wells is to begin in December of the current year. The new discovery will lead Fujairah, one of the seven members that make up the federation of the United Arab Emirates, to become for the first time an important oil producer.
Reserves in the field have not yet been specified, yet oil sources believe the 12.5 billion barrels estimate reported in the press is an exaggerated figure.
The United Arab Emirates, a member of OPEC, has a production limit of 2 million barrels a day, with Abu Dhabi accounting for the majority of the country’s output. —(Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
