How Conveeeeeenient! (Dubai discovers new oil field, a first in decades)

[SoCalDem]

Dubai discovers new oil field, a first in decades
AP
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=389

By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer Adam Schreck, Ap Business Writer – Thu Feb 4, 10:29 am ET

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai's government, under pressure to repay billions of dollars in debt, said Thursday it has discovered a new offshore oil field — the first such find by the city-state in decades.

The media office of the sheikdom's ruler did not provide details such as the size of the field or preliminary estimates of its production capacity, making it impossible to gauge the effect on Dubai's strained budget. An e-mailed statement from the media office announcing the find said the new deposit is located east of the existing Rashid oil field.

snip

The UAE as a whole is the world's third-largest oil exporter, although the vast majority of the nation's reserves are held by the federal capital Abu Dhabi. Dubai's own reserves have been shrinking for years.

Samuel Ciszuk, Middle East energy analyst at IHS Global Insight in London, said the waters off Dubai's coast have been extensively explored, making major discoveries unlikely unless a particularly deep pocket of oil was found. "Nobody has really high hopes for that area. It's been in terminal decline for quite some time," he said. "Likely it is not going to be a very substantial find in the grand scheme of things."

The announcement said the new field will increase the emirate's total output, though it did not say where production stands now or how much potential the new field offers. Dubai does not disclose production levels.

The media office did not respond to a request for further comment. Calls to government-run Dubai Petroleum, which is responsible for the emirate's offshore fields, went unanswered. The British contractor that operates the fields, Petrofac, declined to comment.

snip

The city-state's existing oil reserves are expected to be completely exhausted within two decades, according to UAE government estimates

[Robb]

1. LOL

...I had the same moment when I saw this earlier. Church Lady. :thumbsup:

[louis-t]

2. "completely exhausted within two decades"

Maybe sooner if they overstated their reserves in the '80's when OPEC allowed them to produce based on their 'reserves', which no one verified.

[Edweird]

3. And, in other, completely unrelated news, Dubai has WMD's

[kenfrequed]

4. Maybe...

They "found" oil under the border of one of their neighbors Kuwait-style?