Oil Min: UAE Plans to Lift Oil Production Capacity in 2013

ABU DHABI - The United Arab Emirates plans to raise its oil production capacity to 3 million barrels a day, from the current 2.8 million, during the current year, the country's oil minister Mohammad Al-Hamli said Wednesday. 

The Gulf state's crude output stood at 2.6 million barrels a day in December and it is currently producing at around the same level, Mr. Hamli told reporters at an event in Abu Dhabi.

The U.A.E is likely to become a net importer of natural gas in the next few years due to rising domestic demand, but it has no issue in securing gas supplies, he added. The country, which holds about 214 trillion cubic feet of gas with consumption pegged at around 4 billion standard cubic feet per day, has no plans to change its gas prices for industries in the country, said Mr. Hamli.

The U.A.E. has failed in recent years to develop enough gas production to meet its rising electricity demand, especially during the summer months when use of air conditioning soars. The country, one of the world's top five power consumers per capita, hopes that nuclear energy will eventually help it meet 25% of its consumption requirements even as the economy expands. 

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