UAE to raise Lower Zakum oil capacity

Dubai: The UAE aims to boost oil output capacity at its Lower Zakum oilfield by 100,000 barrels per day by 2010, a Middle East economic magazine website reported.

The UAE is the world's sixth largest oil exporter.

The government said last year it was aiming to boost its total crude and condensate output to around four million barrels per day in the next few years from around 2.9 to three million bpd last year.

Technip of France will carry out the engineering and design for the Lower Zakum expansion, the Middle East Economic Digest (Meed) said.

The project will take cap-acity at the field to 425,000 bpd in 2010 from a projected 325,000 bpd in 2008.

The field produced around 280,000 bpd last year.