Dana Gas to develop UAE field for 2014 start

Dana Gas has agreed with the governments of Sharjah and Ajman to develop a gas field off the two emirates’ coasts with production expected to start in the first half of 2014, the company said on Thursday. Dana is in the midst of restructuring a $920-million Islamic bond, or sukuk, after it failed to meet the payment upon maturity last month. The gas produced will be used mainly for power generation in the two northern emirates, part of the seven-member United Arab Emirates federation. “Dana Gas is proud to play the positive role in developing the gas field, marking the first exploration and production project for the company in the UAE,” Dana Gas Executive Director Rashid Al-Jarwan said in a stock exchange statement. The agreements cover the development and joint operation of the gas field, installation of an offshore platform to process gas, a 25 km subsea pipeline, and gas sales deals. Dana has been focused on expanding in Egypt and Iraq. The natural gas producer said on Nov.7 it had reached an agreement in principle with creditors on restructuring the sukuk, and would pay holders a mix of cash and two new bonds. The new bonds would be a sukuk and a convertible sukuk. Detailed terms of the restructuring and the proposed new sukuk are yet to be made public. Meanwhile, Dana Gas plans to pay bondholders about $100 million in cash as part of the $920 million debt restructuring accord the United Arab Emirates company agreed this month, a person familiar with the deal said. The cash would be paid to holders of the Shariah-compliant notes, or sukuk, once a lockup agreement between Dana Gas and its creditors is signed. From : Gulftoday