The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is developing its oil and gas production and supply facilities to double its oil and gas output by 2006, the English daily Khaleej Times reported Tuesday.

The government plans to increase sustainable oil production capacity to 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2006, from the current 2.62 million bpd.

A crucial element in this expansion is the development of Upper Zakum from its present level of 550,000 bpd to 1.2 million bpd and the onshore development at Bab, Al Dabb'iya, Jarn Yaphour, Rumaitha and Shanayel, bringing the combined capacity of these fields to 460,000 bpd, the paper reported.

The UAE's oil reserves, estimated at 97.8 billion barrels, account for 9.1 percent of the world's total oil reserves.

UAE's biggest oil reserves are located in Abu Dhabi with 92 billion barrels of the total bulk, Dubai with 4 billion barrels, Sharjah with 1.5 billion barrels and Ras Al Khaimah with 100 million barrels.

Natural gas reserves are also concentrated in Abu Dhabi, which has 196 trillion cubic feet, followed by Sharjah with 10.7 trillion cubic feet, Dubai with 4.1 trillion and Ras Al Khaimah with 1.2 trillion, according to official figures.

Oil supplies from the UAE and other major OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, are expected to touch 30 million bpd by 2020 when other sources will have receded or been seriously depleted.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has recently engaged in a major oil and gas expansion capacity program over the past decade in collaboration with Western and Japanese corporate partners. Oil and gas investments during this period exceed 25 billion US dollars.

OPEC's five largest oil producers, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, control more than 60 percent of global oil reserves and currently supply world markets with around 16 million bpd.