Abu Dhabi: The UAE is neither panicked nor stopped investments in oil production in the wake of drop in oil prices, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazroui said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event in Abu Dhabi, he reiterated that the UAE will continue to be a reliable supplier of oil to the word and play a responsible role as a member of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The oil prices will bounce back and will reach sustainable and reasonable levels, he said. “This is a cycle. Oil prices will go back to sustainable and reasonable levels. When the oil prices dropped, we did not panic and stop our budgets. We will continue to participate and be a reliable supplier of oil to the world,” said Al Mazroui.

Abu Dhabi oilfields are efficient and are among the least expensive in the world in terms of production, he added.

Outlining oil and gas projects, he said the Shah gas project being developed by Al Hosn Gas has reached its full production capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day. “The project will be one of the pillars of diversification of sources of gas supply.”

“Takreer refinery in Al Ruwais has reached a milestone. Its refining capacity has exceeded more than 900,000 barrels per day.”

Al Hosn Gas is the Shah gas development’s joint venture in which Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) holds a 60 per cent share and US-based Occidental Petroleum the other 40 per cent.

The multibillion dollar project, which began earlier this year, is meant to produce usable gas from Shah’s high-sulphur field.

Speaking about deregulation of fuel prices, he said it was an important step towards reforms in the fuel subsidies sector. “It is something courageous on the part of the government to approve the deregulation of fuel prices. We are the first country in the Arab world to do so. It serves the national objective of reducing carbon footprint and helping consumers to go for fuel-efficient cars.”

In July, the Ministry of Energy announced the adoption of a new fuel pricing policy linked to global prices. Following the decision, petrol prices increased by more than 20 per cent and diesel prices reduced by 29 per cent for the month of August. However, they have been steadily declining since then.

Oil prices dropped further for the month of November announced by the Ministry of Energy on Wednesday. They are lower than those before deregulation of fuel prices were introduced in August.

The UAE produces around 2.8 million barrels of oil per day and has pledged to increase the capacity to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2017.