UAE oil output rises 1.61 per cent in March

The UAE's oil production rose to 2.52 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, 1.61 per cent higher compared to February, the latest data from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) show. "Kuwait and the UAE ramped up output in March by a combined 110,000 bpd in a bid to offset lost Libyan supplies. The UAE formally suspended cuts to contract allocations, which led to a boost in output of 40,000 bpd," said the IEA, which advises 28 industrialised countries on energy policy. Spare capacity The IEA said the Organisation of Petroleum exporting Countries' (Opec's) effective spare capacity, which excludes Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya, is estimated at 3.91 million bpd, with Saudi Arabia providing just over 80 per cent at 3.2 million bpd, while Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE combined hold a further 13 per cent. Officials at the UAE's Ministry of Energy weren't immediately available to comment on the IEA's figures. According to the IEA, the UAE produced on average, 2.31 million bpd of crude oil in 2010 and 2.27 million bpd in 2009. "Global oil prices will continue to rise on the marginal increase in demand from China for the remainder of this year. The oil prices will probably rise to $150 a barrel by the year-end. "However, if China were to succeed in slowing down its economy, it may be able to put a lid on all commodity prices, including oil," said Dalton Garis, Associate Professor of Economics and Petroleum Market Behaviour at Abu Dhabi's Petroleum Institute.