The news source reported that a scheduled maintenance shutdown at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility on the Das Island is expected to cut oil production by 7.5% in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the world’s fifth largest oil exporter.
The Das Island facility receives gas produced from offshore oilfields, and the only possibly way to operate at full oil production levels would be to flare the associated gas. The UAE has a strict no-flaring policy and will instead reduce oil output to cut down the gas volumes.
An Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying that the offshore 200,000bpd Umm Sharif and 280,000bpd Lower Zakum fields will be partially shut down.
The shutdown coincides with peak demand season in the northern hemisphere, when winter heating drives up fuel use. UAE-crude is reportedly favored by Japanese refiners producing heating oil and they have been offered more volumes in September 2008 to compensate for reduced output in the subsequent months.
