The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) plans to invest more than $25 billion in the next five years in offshore oil fields. Adnoc, the company which produces around 1.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) from the Adma-Opco and Zadco offshore oil fields, expects to raise production to 1.6 mbpd in 2017-2018.

By 2020, the company aims to reach and maintain a production of 3.5 mbpd. Adnoc and its partners at the Zakum Development Company (Zadco) plan to boost production at Upper Zakum, the UAE’s largest oil field by 28 per cent to 750 000 bpd by 2017, and to reach 1 mbpd by 2024.

Adnoc has a 60 per cent stake in Zadco, and the rest is held by ExxonMobil and Japan Oil Development. The Upper Zakum plan will help the UAE to reach its target of boosting the production capacity to 3.5 mbpd by 2017, from under 3 mbpd at present.

Adnoc said it would also implement a host of measures to increase energy efficiency by 10 per cent by 2020. The energy efficiency strategy will reduce Adnoc’s gas consumption by 156 million cubic feet a day, thus saving a total of $1 billion by that time.

The initiatives to enhance energy efficiency have already cut CO2 emissions by 3.1 million tonnes, the equivalent of 658,800 car rides a year, compared to 2014. Further drop in emissions will happen over the next three years as additional operational efficiencies are introduced.

Adnoc’s energy efficiency plans were announced on the second day of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, ADSW, being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Adnec.

As part of its initiative, Adnoc will optimise energy usage, consumption and performance across a range of industry-related activities, and upgrade systems to measure and record data for better energy planning.

Adnoc’s commitment to energy efficiency has already brought significant tangible results, said Omar Al Suwaidi, director of Gas Management, Adnoc Group. "These efficiencies are going to drive further cost savings and enable us to create maximum value from our gas resources. This will not only improve profitability, but will also enable Adnoc to achieve its strategic goal of meeting Abu Dhabi’s rising energy demand from domestic gas supplies," he said.

In addition to its in-house energy efficiency plans, Adnoc is also working on the demand side, encouraging improved energy performances by its stakeholders and contractors in support of an energy-efficient economy in the UAE.