“Investments are ongoing, we are a mature producer,” Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told reporters Sunday at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reported Bloomberg.

The U.A.E. has said it plans to boost oil-production capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2019.

The U.A.E. will spend $35 b by 2021 to expand non-oil energy assets, including nuclear power and solar, Mazrouei said. The nation aims to reduce its reliance on natural gas for power, while still boosting imports of the fuel, he said.

These investments were being made despite the continued decline in oil prices, it must be understood, while the UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to start building a nuclear power plant.

When asked if the Opec member states plan to boost the organization’s oil production capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2017 were on track, the minister said: “Yes”, to cite Trade Arabia.

According to Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, oil investments worldwide are going to drop this year by 20%, their greatest decline in history.