New oil field discovered offshore Dubai

Dubai today announced the discovery of a new offshore oil field in the Persian Gulf. "I can confirm that oil has been discovered and expect production to start within a year," Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of government-owned Dubai Petroleum Establishment, or DPE, told Zawya Dow Jones, confirming local media reports earlier Thursday that a new offshore oil field had been discovered in the emirate.

Sheik Ahmed, who is also chief executive of Emirates Airline, declined to comment on the size of the find.

Unlike Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E.'s largest emirate and holder of almost all the country's oil reserves, Dubai has little hydrocarbon reserves on its own. Income from crude and natural gas contributed only 5.3%, or 7.5 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($2.04 billion), to Dubai's gross domestic product in 2005, according to the latest available data on the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Web site.

Oil was first discovered in Dubai in 1966 and production started in 1970, according to U.K.-listed Petrofac Ltd. (PFC.LN), which manages the emirate's offshore oil and gas assets. Production rates reached the peak during the late 1980's, but have since fallen. The last discovery was made in 1991, according to industry experts.

Dubai produces crude from four offshore oil fields in the Persian Gulf--Fateh, Southwest Fateh, Rashid and Falah. The emirate's oil output is estimated at 60,000-70,000 barrels a day, according to industry estimates.

The U.A.E., a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, presently pumps about 2.25 million barrels a day.