The Middle Eastern region is abundantly endowed with oil and gas resources. Of the 1,050 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves the MENA region accounted for about 69 percent. In contrast, the region accounted for just about 31 percent of total world production, and about 50 percent of exports, which clearly demonstrates the centrality of the region to the present and future of the global oil market. Although new oil reserves continue to be discovered and developed in various countries, such as in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in offshore West Africa, most forecasts indicate that dependence on Middle Eastern oil will increase in the coming years, as production starts to decline in the key North Sea basin and elsewhere.

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Unlike oil, natural gas reserves are more widely dispersed around the world, with the Middle East accounting for about 40 percent of total world reserves of 155 trillion cubic meters. In the recent past gas production from the region accounted for about 14 percent of total world output, in part reflecting the relative underinvestment in the gas sector of the region mentioned earlier.

This is, however, changing: the US$25 billion Saudi Gas Initiative, ongoing or planned production expansion by Algeria, Qatar, and Oman, and expected developments in Iran, Libya, and Yemen should substantially raise Middle Eastern gas output in the coming years. The infrastructure needed to support the gas industry (pipeline gas and liquified natural gas (LNG)) is quite costly, and partly explains the difficulty in developing a global gas market and the relatively low development of the MENA gas sector. Nevertheless, the region is becoming an important player in the gas trade, accounting for about 8 percent of pipeline gas exports and 40 percent of LNG exports.

Exploration and Production in Dubai

From Dubai, Shell now provides a full suite of world-class, environmentally-sound, sustainable exploration and production services from the UAE, to the UAE and the world. Leveraging the logistical and technological synergies available from our Dubai-based sister company Shell Gas & Power, we can transfer our wealth of expertise and innovation to our strategic upstream joint ventures in the UAE, and beyond.

Both Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) - in which Shell holds a 9.5 per cent share and which produces one million barrels per day of oil - and Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco), in which Shell holds a 15 per cent share and which extracts four million tonnes per year of natural gas liquids from the associated gas produced by Adco - benefit from our next-generation digital field capabilities, including enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques.

With Dubai’s growing status as a communications hub, Shell E&P is well placed to bring its operational excellence to new and existing regional projects - on time and on budget.

ADNOC Marketing & Refining Directorate is responsible for selling to the international markets ADNOC’s equity share of crude and condensate production, natural gas liquids and sulphur, together with the refined oil products processed by TAKREER. It is also sells oil products to local distribution companies for consumption in the domestic market.

Marketing and Refining Directorate also coordinates the activities of the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co. (TAKREER), ADNOC Distribution, the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company (ADNATCO) and the National Gas Shipping Company (NGSCO) all of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of ADNOC. Read more.