Reuters: The United Arab Emirates' Crescent Petroleum said on Monday it was confident that a long-delayed deal to import gas from Iran would come to fruition "soon."
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates' Crescent Petroleum said on Monday it was confident that a long-delayed deal to import gas from Iran would come to fruition "soon."
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said in September that Iran was building facilities to use the gas at home unless the price previously agreed with Crescent Petroleum was raised.
Crescent initially signed a deal with the state National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in 2001 but hydrocarbon prices have since soared.
Crescent's executive director Majid Jafar told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit that Iran was three years behind in building facilities to deliver the gas to the UAE.
Crescent has been ready to receive Iranian gas since late 2005, and expected the Iranians to be ready to deliver "soon," he added.
"We are confident that NIOC, a company with a 100-year reputation that has never defaulted on international contracts, will honor its commitments," he said, when asked to comment on the reported differences over price.
When asked when he expected Iranian gas exports to the UAE to begin, he said: "We hope soon, when the commissioning of the facilities in Iran is completed."
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, has been slow to develop gas exports despite huge reserves partly because U.S. sanctions have hindered the building of plants to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) for shipment. Iran now relies on pipelines.
"Unfortunately, many large scale energy projects in the region have suffered delays," Jafar said.
(Writing by Lin Noueihed, Editing by David Cowell)
