Tehran, Iran, February 4
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trned:
Tehran is prepared to deliver gas to the United Arab Emirates under an agreement with Crescent, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company Ali Kardor said, ILNA news agency reported February 4.
Iran’s Oil Ministry in 2010 had a contract with Crescent Petroleum Co. to export natural gas to the UAE, but the agreement was abruptly cancelled after disclosure of corruption involved in the deal.
Kardor said the UAE company has also expressed readiness to resume the trade and is planning expert investigations into the case.
The UAE-based energy company Dana Gas said in 2014 that an international tribunal had issued a favorable ruling in the dispute over a natural gas supply contract between its affiliate Crescent Petroleum and Iran.
The tribunal ruled a 25-year contract for National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) to supply gas to Crescent was valid and binding on both parties, and that NIOC has been obligated to deliver gas since December 2005.
Previously, Iranian media outlets quoted the industry minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh as saying that Iran had been fined $18 billion over the case.
NIOC and Crescent signed the 25-year contract in 2001, with the price linked to oil. Based on the contract, Iran was supposed to export unrefined natural gas from Salman gas field to the United Arab Emirates. However deliveries were delayed as oil prices rose and some officials and politicians in Iran called for a revision to the gas pricing formula.