UAE Oil Production Today | Oil Production Live

Current production

~3.5M bbl/day

barrels per day

World share

~4%

of global output

Proven reserves

~98 billion barrels

barrels

OPEC member

Yes

About UAE oil production

Abu Dhabi and the Ambition to Reach 5 Million Barrels

The United Arab Emirates is one of the most strategically important oil producers in the world — a small federation of seven emirates that punches far above its geographic weight in global energy markets. Abu Dhabi, the largest and wealthiest emirate, holds virtually all of the UAE's oil reserves and production capacity, while Dubai — the most internationally recognized emirate — diversified away from oil decades ago and now generates most of its economy from trade, tourism, and finance.

Abu Dhabi's oil production is managed by ADNOC — the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company — one of the most profitable and ambitious state oil companies in the world. ADNOC operates the major onshore and offshore fields that form the backbone of UAE production, including the giant Zakum offshore field — one of the largest in the world — and onshore fields in the Abu Dhabi desert that have been producing since the 1960s.

The UAE has been one of the most vocal advocates within OPEC for higher production quotas, creating periodic friction with Saudi Arabia. In 2021 the UAE nearly triggered a collapse of OPEC+ negotiations by demanding its baseline production level be raised to reflect investments it had made in expanding capacity — a dispute that was eventually resolved but highlighted growing tensions within the cartel between countries that have invested in capacity expansion and those that have not.

ADNOC has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy targeting production capacity of 5 million barrels per day by 2030 — an ambition that reflects both confidence in long-term oil demand and a desire to monetize reserves before any potential long-term decline in fossil fuel consumption.

Quick Facts

UAE

Production	~3.5 million bbl/day
World share	~4%
Primary regions	Abu Dhabi — Zakum offshore, onshore desert fields
National oil company	ADNOC
OPEC member	Yes
Proven reserves	~98 billion barrels
Data source	EIA / OPEC estimates

Did you know

Interesting Facts About UAE Oil

1

Abu Dhabi controls approximately 6 percent of the world's proven oil reserves yet the emirate has a population of under 1.5 million people — giving it one of the highest per-capita oil wealth ratios of any territory on earth and funding one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

2

The UAE was one of the first Gulf states to invite international oil companies to take equity stakes in its production — BP, TotalEnergies, Shell, and others hold minority interests in major UAE fields — a more open model than Saudi Arabia which reserves Aramco for full state ownership.

3

Dubai, the UAE's most famous emirate, produces virtually no oil today — its small offshore fields are nearly depleted — yet Dubai's transformation from an oil-dependent economy to a global hub for trade, finance, and tourism is studied worldwide as a model for post-oil economic diversification.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much oil does the UAE produce per day?

The UAE produces approximately 3.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, almost entirely from Abu Dhabi. ADNOC has announced plans to expand capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030 through significant investment in new field development and enhanced recovery from existing fields.

Which emirate produces most of the UAE's oil?

Abu Dhabi produces virtually all of the UAE's oil — over 95 percent of production and essentially all of the proven reserves are in Abu Dhabi. Dubai's oil fields are nearly depleted and the other five emirates have no significant production. This concentration means the UAE's oil wealth is fundamentally Abu Dhabi's oil wealth.

Why did the UAE almost leave OPEC in 2021?

The UAE demanded that its production baseline — the reference level from which OPEC+ cuts are calculated — be raised to reflect the significant capacity expansion investments ADNOC had made. The existing baseline had been set years earlier when UAE capacity was lower, meaning the UAE's cuts were proportionally larger than countries that had not invested in expansion. The dispute was resolved with a compromise that raised the UAE baseline, but it signaled growing strain within OPEC+ between ambitious expanders and status quo producers.

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