The Abu Dhabi Energy Company (Taqa) said it was planning to boost its production capacity to 82,000 bpd by the end of next year and also enter the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market soon.

Taqa, which has set a target to raise its oil output by 49.1 per cent, will also undertake projects across its global oil producing assets to lift production, Taqa CEO Peter Barker-Homek said.

The company also plans to increase the value of its European assets from $5 billion to $20 billion by 2016. These include a carbon sequestration project in the Netherlands for enhanced oil recovery, he added.

The company will also focus on its North Sea offshore asset where there is a potential for a sizeable increase in output.

'We have two exploration blocks in the Netherlands. We also want to grow our asset base in the North Sea which we want to be worth $20 billion by 2016 at the latest from $5 billion at present,' Barker-Homek said.

He added that from a current capacity of 55,000 bpd oil equivalent, the production capacity of Taqa would initially be increased to 62,000 bpd through enhanced oil recovery technology.

A further 20,000 bpd production increase is expected by the end of next year, said Barker-Homek.

Barker-Homek also said Taqa did not have any exposure to the bankrupt US investment bank - Lehman Brothers.

'We had a small credit facility with them of $50 million which was not drawn upon,' said Barker-Homek.