Abu Dhabi will start selling natural gas to its northern neighbor Dubai from June through a pipeline linking the two members of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai's top energy official said Tuesday.
"From June, around 16.5 million cubic meters (550 million cubic feet) of gas will be taken from Taweela station in Abu Dhabi to Jebel Ali," Sheikh Ahmad bin Said al-Maktoum told reporters.
"Gas deliveries could be doubled to reach a maximum level of 33 million cubic meters (1.1 billion cubic feet)," Sheikh Ahmad said.
"The gas will be used to reply to Dubai's industrial needs, notably to guarantee the smooth running of Dubai Aluminum (Dubal)," he said.
A 112-kilometer (67-mile) pipeline was built at a cost of 84 million dollars from the Maqta region of Abu Dhabi to Dubai's free trade zone of Jebel Ali as part of a deal signed by the Abu Dhabi Gas Company (ADGC) and Dubai's gas authorities.
ADGC, a subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), was founded in 1999 with a capital of $135 million and a mandate to treat and distribute natural gas inside the UAE.
Apart from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the two richest emirates, the UAE also comprises Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qawain.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse 2001.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
