UAE remains third largest Opec earner

The UAE has remained the third largest revenue earner in Opec despite a massive reduction in its crude output in line with an agreement by the 12-nation group to trim supplies and prop prices, according to official US data.

During the first nine months of 2009, the UAE's oil export income stood at around $36 billion, the third largest after the revenues of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The UAE slashed its crude output by at least 300,000 barrels per day under Opec's accord to curb supplies by around 4.2 million barrels per day from the beginning of the year to prevent a price collapse due to the global fiscal turmoil.

Although the 12 members have not fully complied with the cuts, the accord succeeded in bolstering crude prices, which have recovered by nearly 100 per cent since January, when they averaged as low as $40 a barrel.

The figures by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy showed Saudi, the world's oil powerhouse, netted nearly $107bn in the first nine months of this year.

Iran's revenues were estimated at around $37bn; they were put at $33bn in Kuwait; $16bn in Qatar and $27bn billion in Iraq.

The earnings were estimated at $28bn in Algeria, $29bn in Angola, $24bn in Libya, $30bn in Nigeria, $23bn in Venezuela and $4bn in Ecuador, the smallest producer within Opec.

The report showed Opec's oil export earnings totaled around $393bn in the first nine months of this year, far lower than the Group's income of about $810bn in the same period of last year.

It showed Opec's total income for 2009 would dip to nearly $558bn from a record $971bn in current prices last year. But the report projected the revenues to rebound to nearly $686bn in 2010 because of higher prices and a recovery in global demand.

Oil prices averaged about $55 a barrel in the first nine months of 2009, far below the price of more than $110 in the same period last year.

Nearly half of the reductions in Opec's output have been undertaken by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran given their large output, which accounts for around two thirds of the group's total production.

The surge in crude prices to a record average of $95 in 2008 combined with rising production boosted Opec's income to its highest level in current prices and allowed most members to record massive fiscal surpluses.

Prices plunged in Q4 2008 under the pressure of faltering demand because of the global crisis. They remained weak in the first quarter of 2009 before they started to rebound due to supply cuts by Opec and signs of a recovery in the global economy.

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