Posted inNews, DRILLING & PRODUCTION

Once a fishing village, this is how an oil boom transformed the UAE’s capital city

As the UAE celebrates its 51st National Day, I can’t help but think back about the remarkable transformation of Abu Dhabi from a village to a thriving oil exporter

by Faiza Rizvi
uae-production-2027
by Faiza Rizvi
faiza-rizvi
Faiza Rizvi, Editor, Oil & Gas Middle East

In the 1930s, Abu Dhabi was just a poor fishing village on the edge of the desert. But the discovery of oil has revolutionised the Emirate from a desert looking for water supply to OPEC’s third-largest oil producer. And the journey has been impressive to say the least.

As the UAE celebrates its 51st National Day, I can’t help but think back about the remarkable transformation of Abu Dhabi from a village to a thriving oil exporter built on the back of an oil boom.

In the early 1930s, the first oil company teams conducted geological surveys in the UAE. The country’s first commercial oil discovery was made in 1958 – onshore in the Bab-2 well and offshore at Umm Shaif, and in 1962, the first cargo of crude oil was exported from Abu Dhabi. With the economy steadily progressing, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was chosen as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966. Under Sheikh Zayed, the steady oil revenues resulted in an infrastructure overhaul with the construction of schools, housing, hospitals and roads throughout Abu Dhabi. 

Abu Dhabi’s current ruler Mohamed bin Zayed, popularly known as MBZ, continued as a driving force of economic reform, opening the country up further to foreign investors and selling state assets in order to ramp up developments in the energy sector. He has also championed the rise of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who besides being ADNOC’s group CEO also serves as minister of industry and advanced technology.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan al Nahyan (centre), with IPC General Manager C.M. Dalley (right), after turning the valve at the newly-built oil terminal at Jebel Dhanna to symbolise the first flow of oil in 1964. (Source: IPC)

Since his appointment in 2016, Al Jaber has publicly listed several ADNOC units and sold key assets to foreign investors. Under his leadership, ADNOC has also outlined a strategic objective of 5 million barrels of oil production capacity a day by 2030.

But the biggest transformation has been ADNOC’s launch in March 2021 of the Murban crude futures contracts on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, a move that aimed to cement the company’s central role in the Middle East’s trading business.

In addition to ramping up production, the UAE also announced its net-zero carbon pledge for 2050 and is set to host the COP28 UN climate talks in 2023 as it seeks to have its voice heard on the energy transition debate.

Here’s wishing our readers a very Happy 51st National Day!