UAE Oil Output Hits All-Time High, Doubling Pre-Crisis Levels

The United Arab Emirates lifted its crude oil output to a record 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency, marking the highest level the country has ever produced.

The jump was substantial, rising from 3.3 million bpd in May after the UAE formally exited OPEC on 1 May and began ramping up production. June's figure surpassed the previous peak of 4 million bpd set in spring 2020, when OPEC+ members briefly waged a market-share price war during the early Covid period. It also represented close to double the output recorded in March, when disruption around the Strait of Hormuz began.

The achievement is notable given that the Strait of Hormuz was largely blockaded for much of the first half of June. To keep barrels flowing, the UAE reportedly moved tankers through the strait in "dark mode" and increasingly directed sales to loading points that sit outside the chokepoint, namely offshore Fujairah and Sohar in neighbouring Oman.

State producer ADNOC is moving to entrench this workaround. The company has accelerated its West-East 1 Pipeline, targeted for start-up in 2027, which is intended to double export capacity routed through Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman coast, bypassing Hormuz entirely. ADNOC has also signalled plans to commit as much as US$55 billion (200 billion dirhams) to upstream and downstream projects over the next two years, underscoring an aggressive growth agenda following its OPEC departure.

For Malaysian and Southeast Asian maritime and oil and gas readers, the developments carry several implications. A surge in Middle Eastern supply, alongside infrastructure that reroutes crude away from Hormuz, could reshape tanker flows and freight patterns on routes serving Asian refiners, including those in Malaysia and Singapore. Additional Gulf barrels entering an already well-supplied market may weigh on crude prices, affecting Petronas and regional producers. Meanwhile, ADNOC's heavy capital programme and its bypass pipeline point to sustained demand for offshore engineering, pipeline construction and marine services, offering potential contracting opportunities for regional yards and vessel operators active in the Gulf.