UAE Oil Production and Capacity

Production and ADNOC's capacity push

Almost all UAE oil comes from Abu Dhabi and is produced by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its foreign partners. The EIA estimates the UAE produced 3.4 million b/d of crude in 2025 with effective capacity of 4.2 million b/d, the third-largest in OPEC at the time behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

ADNOC's own target is higher. It says it has reached 5 million b/d of crude and liquids capacity after a $150 billion investment programme. The IEA estimates crude capacity at nearly 4.4 million b/d in 2026, plus about 1.1 million b/d of condensate and natural gas liquids. Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei has said capacity could rise to 6 million b/d if markets need it, but called this "not an official target".

Leaving OPEC and OPEC+

For years the UAE argued that its OPEC+ baseline did not reflect the capacity it had paid for. Its quota of about 3.5 million b/d left more than a million barrels a day idle, a source of tension with Saudi Arabia. On 28 April 2026 the UAE announced it would leave OPEC and OPEC+ from 1 May, after 59 years of membership, citing a review of production policy based on national interest. It was the largest producer ever to leave the group.

The EIA calculates that without the UAE, OPEC's share of world crude production in 2025 would have been 31% instead of 35%, and OPEC+'s about 42% instead of 46%. The exit meant little for prices in the short term because Hormuz limited Gulf output, but it removes quota limits once shipping normalises. The IEA expects UAE oil output to reach about 5.2 million b/d in 2027.

Murban crude and Murban futures

Murban is a light, relatively low-sulphur crude from onshore Abu Dhabi and the UAE's flagship grade. Production capacity is around 2 million b/d, more than half of UAE output, according to ICE. In March 2021 ADNOC, ICE and nine trading companies launched ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD), where Murban futures trade and clear. Since then ADNOC has priced Murban off the futures market rather than setting an official price itself. Murban competes with Dubai and Oman as a price reference for oil sold to Asia.

Fujairah: the Hormuz bypass

The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) runs about 400 km from the Habshan fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. It carries about 1.5 million b/d routinely and up to about 1.8 million b/d at most. The EIA says the UAE plans to double this capacity by 2027 with a new pipeline. Fujairah is also one of the world's largest bunkering and storage hubs.

When Iran closed Hormuz after 28 February 2026, Fujairah loadings rose from about 1.17 million b/d in February to 1.62 million b/d in March, according to Kpler. Iran then targeted UAE energy sites. Drone strikes caused fires at Fujairah on 14 and 16 March and suspended loadings, and the 922,000 b/d Ruwais refinery was halted on 10 March, MEED reported. UAE crude output fell to about 2.8 million b/d in May, the IEA estimates, before recovering to more than 3.8 million b/d in June, the highest since April 2020, as ADNOC sold extra cargoes by tender.

On 18 August 2026 the UAE halted all trade and financial dealings with Iran after detecting missiles launched from Iranian territory, which Iran denied. In October Iranian officials named the shuttle of smaller tankers carrying Gulf crude to larger ships outside the strait as a target.

Oil and the UAE economy

The UAE is less dependent on oil than its neighbours. The IMF put its fiscal break-even oil price at about $54 per barrel in 2024 and projected about $50 for 2025, far below Saudi Arabia's. Dubai's trade, tourism and finance sectors and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth give it room to prioritise volume over price, which helps explain its exit from OPEC. Compare its position with Saudi Arabia.