THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES1009 
 
Table 1.—United Arab Emirates': Production of mineral commodities
—Continued

Emirate, commodity,2 and unit of measure 
1976 
1977 
l9?8~ 
1979e 
SHAMAN 
 
 
 
 
Cement, hydraulic do~__Gas, natural, gross production4 million cubic feet_
-Petroleum, crude thousand 42-gallon barrels.. — 
15,000 
13,542 
50 
15,000 
10,293 
 263 
15,000 
8,067 
 300 
15,000 
8,750 
 e~imate ~Preiiminary. NA Not available. 
 
 ' In addition to the Emirates listed, Fujairah and Umm al-Qaiwain record
no mineral production but presumably produce small quantities of crude construction
materials. 
 
 21n addition to the commodities listed, crude construction materials such
as common clays, stone, And sand and gravel presumably are produced, but
output is not recorded quantitatively and general information is inadequate
to make reliable estimates of output levels. 
 3lncludes gas reinjected to reservoirs, if any. 
 4No marketed production isceported; there is probably some small field use.

 
 
Table 2.—Abu Dhabi: Exports of crude oil, by destination 
(Thousand 42-gallon barrels) 
Destination 
1976 
1977 
1978 
Australia                                                
Canada                                                  
France                                                  
Germany,FederalRepublicof                                  
Italy                                                    
Japan                                                   
Netherlands                                              
UnitedKingdom                                           
UnitedStates                                              
Other                                                   
 
Total                                                
 220 
 2,855 
76,128 
17,934 
14,384 
192,004 
66,758 
38,357 
80,557 
89,961 
 2,081 
 
72,708 
32,741 
11,899 
191,005 
87,126 
25,842 
101,580 
74,604 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
NA 
 
579,158 
599,586 
522,644 
NA Not available. 
 
 
 
 Source: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Statistics Unit.
Annual Statistical Bulletin 1978 (Vienna). 1978, p. 75. 
 
COMMODITY REVIEW 
 
METALS 
 
 Aluminum.—Arrangements for financing the United Arab Emirates'
first
aluminum smelter were nearing completion. In 1979, the Dubai Aluminum Co.
(DUBAL) received a $230 million Eurocurrency loan arranged by a consortium
of international banks. In addition, the British Export Credits Guarantee
Department allocated $320 million in support of British Smelter Constructions,
the main contractor on the smelter located in Jebel Au, Dubai. Production
was to begin in early 1980. The smelter was owned 80% by the Dubai Government,
7.5% by Southwire Aluminum Co. (United States), 7.5% by Nissho-Iwai Co. Ltd.
(Japan), and 5% by local interests. Annual production capacity was to be
135,000 tons of billets rising to 180,000 tons of billets by the mid-1980's.
Fuel was to be supplied by the Dubai Natural Gas Co. (DUGAS) plant under
construction in Jebel Ali. The DUBAL smelter's power station, with an installed
generating capacity of 515 megawatts, would be 
the largest industrial gas turbine powerplant outside North America. An agreement
was reached with Alcoa of Australia for the supply of 200,000 tons of alumina
per year for 10-year period. 
 In August 1978, Gulf Extrusions Ltd. brought into production Dubai's first
aluminum extrusion plant in Jebel All. The $10 million plant produced 3,000
tons per year of various aluminum shapes. Billets were obtained from Aluminum
Báhrain Ltd. (ALBA) in 1978 and were to be supplied in the future
by the DUBAL smelter. An aluminum cable plant, with a nominal capacity of
1,500 tons per year, was also under construction. 
 Iron and Steel.—In October 1978, the Abu Dhabi Executive Council
approved
the establishment of a major iron and steel complex in the new industrial
city of Ruweis. A $200,000 contract for a feasibility study of the project
was awarded to Eisenbau A.G. (Federal Republic of Germany). The plant was
to have an annual production