The UAE's discovery of nearly 2.28 trillion cubic meters of shallow gas reserves in an area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is the biggest find in 15 years, Abu Dhabi based The National newspaper reports Monday citing analysts.
"The find ranks as the largest global gas discovery since Galkynysh (South Yolotan)," said Liam Yates, Middle East upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
The Turkmen gasfield, the world's second-largest, was discovered in 2005 and is estimated to hold about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas.
Shallow gas refers to organic gas found in relatively shallow depths below the ground's surface. The shallow nature of the resource will also ensure that the development costs of gas production will be lower than developing Abu Dhabi's sour gas resources, Mr Yates said.
The Jebel Ali reservoir located between the two emirates has 80 trillion cubic feet (2.28 trillion cubic meters) of gas resources, according to tweets by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE’s prime minister and Dubai’s ruler.
Authorities said the new Jebel Ali field would help the Emirates become more energy independent, as the UAE now imports natural gas from Qatar for electricity.
On Sunday, state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Dubai Supply Authority signed an agreement to explore the resources jointly.
ADNOC and the Dubai Supply Authority will explore and develop the shallow gas field, which spans some 5,000 square kilometers, ADNOC said.
The discovery had moved the UAE from seventh to the sixth position in the world's ranking of hydrocarbon reserves. With the recent discovery, the country has now increased its total gas reserves to 10.01 trillion cubic meters.
