The UAE has come a long way from the time the first oil well was struck and crude became the country's most important commodity, bringing wealth and prosperity to its people.
Now, 50 years on, the country is looking ahead to the next half a century, where hydrocarbons will no longer be the mainstay of the world economy.
The UAE is innovating along with other regional and global producers to diversify its assets, improve efficiency, turn to renewables as an alternative source and grow into a world leader in developing hydrogen.
Oil and gas, however, remain critical to the development of the country, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the state energy giant, continuing to invest in developing hydrocarbon resources.
The UAE accounts for about 4 per cent of global oil production, with the bulk of the output from fields owned and managed by Adnoc. The country is also on track to raise its overall capacity of production to 5 million barrels per day by 2030.
The emirates, which generates power from gas is also substantially increasing the volumes of the fuel, which is lower carbon to meet its growing consumption requirements.
The UAE, Opec's third-largest producer, consumes around 7.4 billion cubic feet (bcf/d) of gas per day largely to meet power demand, with the total share of imported fuel at 30 per cent, energy consultancy FGE estimates.
Abu Dhabi is prioritising the development of gas from unconventional reserves, which are deposits that were earlier considered commercially unviable to exploit.
The UAE announced the discovery of additional reserves of 7 billion “stock tank” barrels of oil, 58 trillion cf of conventional gas and 160tcf of unconventional gas in 2019.
This pushed the country up the rankings in terms of hydrocarbon reserves, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
Last year, the UAE also announced the discovery of 80tcf of shallow gas reserves in an area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai — the biggest discovery in 15 years.
Adnoc has also advanced more efficient production of oil and gas over the past five years, deploying big data and artificial intelligence to produce hydrocarbons more efficiently.
In February, Adnoc said it generated $1.1 billion in business value through the deployment of Big Data and analytics at its Thamama Centre, which oversees upstream operations. The company accrued $2bn in cost savings over the past five years by employing advanced technology and digitalisation to optimise its drilling operations.
The Thamama centre, which is named after the most dominant reservoir formation in Abu Dhabi, is part of the company's continuing investments in advanced technology, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, in order to drive greater efficiencies.
Adnoc has also formed a joint venture known as AIQ with Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Group 42 to develop and commercialise AI products and applications for the oil and gas industry.
AIQ, Group 42 and the world's largest energy services firm, Schlumberger, also have an agreement to develop and sell AI products for the global exploration and production market.
The UAE also plans to find additional uses for crude to meet the growing global demand for chemicals, as well as to create a manufacturing hub in the country. The country plans to triple petrochemical production capacity from 4.5 million tonnes — currently produced entirely by the Borouge facility in Ruwais — by 2025.
Adnoc is also an early starter among regional energy companies in terms of opening up assets to foreign investment.
Even in the midst of the pandemic, Adnoc helped attract Dh62bn ($16.8bn) in foreign direct investment to the UAE this year, mainly through various multibillion dollar transactions signed in the midstream and infrastructure segments.
Between 2016 and 2020, the state-owned firm helped drive Dh237bn in FDI flows to the UAE.
At the height of the pandemic, a consortium of the world’s leading infrastructure and sovereign wealth funds signed an agreement worth $20.7bn to invest in Abu Dhabi’s natural gas pipelines infrastructure. The transaction, the largest single global energy infrastructure deal at the time and the Middle East's biggest, will unlock $10.1bn of foreign investment into the UAE.
Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, South Korea's NH Investment & Securities and Italy’s Snam took stakes in Adnoc’s lucrative midstream assets.
Adnoc also entered into a $5.5bn deal with Apollo Global Management to lease some of its properties, which led to a further FDI inflow of $2.7bn.
The UAE has continuously tried to position itself ahead of the curve and in many respects is a bellwether of changing regional market dynamics. It has embraced the energy transition by taking a leading position in new fuels such as green and blue hydrogen as it looks to tap the growing market for low-carbon fuel.
Following the latest edition of Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, by The National's estimate, the week-long event resulted in more than $13.7bn of investment pledged to develop the UAE's upstream and downstream sectors. The figure takes into account only planned investments and awards by Adnoc, and does not include preliminary agreements by other companies.
The UAE in line with the global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels will also now host the 28th Conference of Parties in 2023 following its pledge this year to reach net zero by the middle of the century.
The country created history by becoming the first Arab nation to pledge to offset all carbon emissions it creates domestically ahead of Cop26.
As the country looks forward to a new age away from oil, Adnoc is also adding renewables to its portfolio.
Along with Taqa, a major player in utilities, Adnoc will form a joint venture to invest in renewables.
The companies joined forces to create a global renewable energy and green hydrogen venture that will have a generating capacity of 30 gigawatts by 2030.
The two companies will partner on domestic and international renewable energy and waste-to-energy projects, as well as the production, processing, and storage of green hydrogen.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
