Abu Dhabi is unlikely to hit its 2017 target of 3.5mn b/d crude production capacity until 2019 at the earliest, MEES learns. The delay is caused by: project slippage; a shortage of engineers; concern about US shale oil pressuring prices; and confusion over the future configuration of concessions to operate the main fields.
A delay at the offshore Upper Zakum oil field is the latest example of continual slippage of Abu Dhabi’s upstream projects. State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) executes design work relatively efficiently, but then delays awarding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. This contributed to Abu Dhabi’s initial target of 3.5mn b/d – set in the last decade – recently being put back, officially, to 2017. Industry insiders tell MEES that it now will not be achieved before 2019. (CONTINUED - 820 WORDS)
