Oil and natural gas exports play an important role in the economy of the UAE. As of the 2011 data gathered by the CIA World Factbook, the UAE oil and natural gas proven reserves are ranked as the world’s seventh-largest. In just a matter of decades since oil was discovered, the UAE became one of the major players in the international oil and natural gas export industry. Now, the UAE is classified as a high-income developing country.
The oil and gas industry in the UAE is divided into three ... More >>

Oil and natural gas exports play an important role in the economy of the UAE. As of the 2011 data gathered by the CIA World Factbook, the UAE oil and natural gas proven reserves are ranked as the world’s seventh-largest. In just a matter of decades since oil was discovered, the UAE became one of the major players in the international oil and natural gas export industry. Now, the UAE is classified as a high-income developing country.
The oil and gas industry in the UAE is divided into three sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream. The UAE’s upstream oil and gas sector generally describes the players involved in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and raw natural gas. It includes the searching of potential oil and gas reservoirs, drilling of exploratory wells, and subsequently operating the wells to recover and bring crude oil and natural gas to the surface.
The downstream oil and gas sector in the UAE describes the players involved in the refinery of crude oil and the selling and distribution of natural gas and products derived from crude oil. These petrochemical products include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sulphur, gasoline or petrol, jet fuel, diesel fuel, asphalt, heating oil, lubricants, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, antifreeze, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The downstream oil sector in the UAE includes oil refineries, petrochemical plants, fuel suppliers, petroleum product and natural gas distributors, petroleum filling stations, industrial gas suppliers and retail gas suppliers. The oil and gas companies in the UAE provide re-fuelling services not only to the land transport sector but also to the aviation and marine industries. These companies also supply the UAE with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The midstream oil and gas sector in the UAE describes the players engaged in the oil and gas transportation from the extraction site to the refineries or regasification plants. This sector is often referred to as an extension of either the upstream or downstream sector. This sector includes the gas liquefaction companies which convert natural gas into liquefied form so that it can be transported to regasification terminals.
Other players of the oil and gas industry in the UAE are oilfield contractors, gas cylinder manufacturers, gas producers and wholesalers, industrial gas suppliers, liquefied petroleum gas suppliers, oil companies and representatives, and oilfield equipment manufacturers. Because of the growing oil and gas industry, diverse services have been offered by different companies, such as oil and gas consultancy, oil and gas services, gas turbine services, oil and gas exploration and development, oil inspection services, oil pollution control services, storage terminal services, oilfield services, oilfield equipment rental services, petroleum consultant services, gas analyser services, central gas system services and waste oil recycling services.
Manufacturing companies also emerged to supply the UAE’s oil and gas industry with the equipment and supplies they need. These equipment and supplies include lubrication equipment, fuel handling equipment, gas plant equipment, oil pollution control equipment, oilfield equipment, chemical pumps, chemical injection skids, gas detectors, gas meters, oilfield supplies, petroleum supplies, storage tanks, oil country tubular goods (OCTG), and air, gas and oil filters.
Most oil and gas companies in the UAE are considered as integrated because of their ability to combine the upstream, midstream and downstream activities as part of their overall operations.
Although the oil industry continuously boosts the economic growth of the UAE, it is forecasted that natural gas will play an increasing important role in the development of the country. Gas exports in the UAE provide a more stable source of revenue than oil because quantity is fixed for a contracted period, and prices are less changeable. For this reason, various gas exploration and development are enhanced and a lot of new projects are now being conceptualized and started to meet the increasing demand of the UAE consumers.
Since the overall processes involved in oil and gas exploration, development, production, transportation and refinery greatly affect humans and the environment, the oil and gas companies in the UAE strictly adhere and comply with the international Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) policies. Along with the strict implementation of HSE policies, the oil and gas companies in the UAE started a nationwide campaign to phase out the leaded fuel throughout the country.
Significantly enhancing and increasing the rate of oil and gas recovery, identifying new finds, and identifying new oil-rich structures in existing fields put the UAE as one of the world’s most dynamic developing markets. << Hide