The UAE’s hydrocarbon export earnings are expected to climb to their highest ever level of more than $122 billion in 2012 because of high production and prices, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The UAE pumped around 2.6 million barrels per day of crude in 2011 and output is projected to remain unchanged in 2012, it said.

But crude prices could climb to a record high average of about $119.7 a barrel this year to break a previous record of $109.6 in 2011.

Higher prices will lift the country’s oil and gas export revenues to nearly $122.1 billion in 2012 compared with $111.6 billion in 2011.

Strong crude prices boosted the UAE’s income by nearly 38 per cent in 2011 from around $75 billion in 2010, according to the Washington-based IMF.

The UAE, one of the world’s largest oil and gas suppliers, earned only about $52 billion in 2009, nearly 40 per cent below the 2008 income of around $87 billion because of a sharp fall in oil prices and output.

The IMF said the surge in the UAE’s hydrocarbon export income lifted its nominal GDP by around 20.8 per cent to $360 billion in 2011 from $298 billion in 2010. It expected GDP to swell further to $386 billion in 2012 and $394 billion in 2013.

It forecast real GDP to slow down to 2.3 per cent this year from 4.9 per cent in 2011 before picking up by 2.8 per cent in 2013.

The report showed the hydrocarbon sector would record zero growth this year because of unchanged output while the non-oil sector will likely grow by around 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.8 per cent in 2013.

Source: Emirates 24-7