Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) plans to invest around US$25bn over the next five years in a bid to boost oil production from offshore fields.

The investment is part of the UAE's strategy to increase its crude oil output potential from its current production of 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3.5 million bpd by 2017-18, Reuters reported.

ADNOC’s offshore exploration and production directorate manager Qasem al-Kayoumi said that ADNOC plans to drill 160 wells per year over the next couple of years.

One of the main UAE oilfields being developed by Exxon is the giant Upper Zakum, whose production capacity ADNOC would like to increase to 750,000 bpd by 2017-18, This may be further increased to one million bpd by 2024, added the company.

Kayoumi  informed that current production from the ADMA-OPCO and ZADCO oilfields was 1.2mn bpd and in 2017-18, the figure would likely be 1.6mn bpd.  ADMA-OPCO was in an early phase of preparing for the renewal of its offshore concession, due to expire in 2018.

"We hope that this concession will be renewed with our existing and future partners,” he added.