(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi and Dubai discovered natural gas at a reservoir between the two sheikhdoms, boosting the United Arab Emirates’ push to become self-sufficient in the fuel.
The Jebel Ali reservoir contains 80 trillion standard cubic feet of gas resources, according to tweets by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the U.A.E.’s prime minister and Dubai’s ruler. The U.A.E. is seeking to break its reliance on gas from Qatar, with which it has been locked in a 2 1/2-year diplomatic dispute.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the government-owned energy giant known as Adnoc, will jointly develop the reservoir with distributor the Dubai Supply Authority.
The U.A.E., an OPEC member and a major global oil exporter, is now looking to gas and other sources of energy to diversify and guarantee security of supply. The burgeoning Middle Eastern business and tourism hub is building nuclear, solar and coal-fired power plants, while Adnoc has invited international companies to help tap previously inaccessible gas deposits.
While the U.A.E. is among the world’s 10 biggest holders of gas reserves, the Jebel Ali project marks the first time Adnoc has explored for the fuel in Dubai. The company drilled more than 10 wells to make its discovery, and will use both standard and unconventional drilling techniques to pump the fuel, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Amanda Jordan, Rakteem Katakey
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