UAE oil exports earned over $22b in 2003 as output rose sharply
Arab Industry Oil Photos Trade
By Nadim Kawach
Bureau Chief
Abu Dhabi: The UAE netted more than $22 billion from crude oil exports last year after oil prices surged above $28 a barrel and the country pumped at one of its highest output rates.
Official figures showed the value of oil exports was higher by more than 32 per cent over the previous year and slightly above the record 2000 earnings of $21.6 billion.
In a forward to the annual report on the country's economic and social developments last year, Sheikh Humaid bin Ahmed Al Mualla, Minister of Planning, said the UAE's crude oil sales hit an all-time high of Dh81.2 billion ($22.1 billion) last year compared with Dh61.2 billion ($16.6 billion) in 2002.
He gave no production figures but the UAE pumped more than 2.1 million barrels per day in 2002 while the price of Opec's basket of seven crudes averaged more than $28 a barrel, one of its highest levels since the end of the oil boom two decades ago.
In contrast, the UAE's income plunged to nearly $10 billion in 1998, when oil prices collapsed to less than $10 following a price war among oil producers.
Oil prices have remained at more than $30 over the past few months and many expect them to range between $30 and $32 this year, their highest average in more than 20 years.
With the UAE's oil production expected to average more than 2.2 million bpd, its income is projected to hit a record $25 billion and could surpass that level if crude prices remain strong and the UAE boosts supplies in line with a recent Opec agreement.
"The UAE's income could reach $25 billion or more this year, its highest ever income," said Mohammed Zaini, an analyst at the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, which is owned by former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Al Yamani.
The surge in the country's oil revenues last year allied with a sharp growth in other exports and re-exports by free zones to boost its overall exports to a record Dh241.8 billion ($65.8 billion) from Dh190.8 billion ($51.9 billion) in 2002.
Despite a similar surge in imports, the country's trade surplus peaked at around Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion), according to Al Mualla.
His figures showed oil and gas exports accounted for about 45 per cent of the total exports, while re-exports stood at 33.9 per cent and exports by Dubai's Jebel Ali and other free zones amounted to 17.1 per cent. The rest were in other non-oil exports.
"Last year was one of the best economic and financial years for the UAE … there were increases in most sectors, including investment and final consumption. The structure of the economy showed that the UAE is making prog-ress in diversification," Al Mualla.