Dana Gas will go ahead with plans for gas exploration and production offshore from Sharjah, where it expects to spend US$135 million (Dh495.92m) on its first upstream energy project in its home country.
The project will include extensive work to bring the Zora gasfield into production, five years after similar plans were abandoned.
"We are in the process of placing orders for the equipment and materials necessary for the pipeline and production facilities, and are currently involved in negotiations with three major offshore rig contractors," said Ahmed Rashid al Arbeed, an executive director of Dana.
The Sharjah-based company said it planned to re-enter and complete two test wells originally drilled by its biggest shareholder, Crescent Petroleum, which discovered the Zora field in 1979. Dana said it would also install an offshore platform for gas production and processing, and build a 25km undersea pipeline to bring the gas ashore.
It said it was in the final stages of selecting a construction yard for the platform, and had hired reservoir specialists to advise on the gasfield's potential and how it could best be exploited.
The Zora field, located 35km offshore in Gulf waters shared by Sharjah and Ajman, is estimated to contain 317 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves.
Crescent and Atlantis Holdings, a Norwegian firm, had originally agreed to develop the field, with production scheduled to start in 2003. But the acquisition that year of Atlantis by the Chinese company, Sinochem, derailed the plan.
Last March, the Sharjah Government awarded Dana a 25-year concession for the emirate's western offshore area covering more than 1,000 square kilometres, giving the company a 50 per cent interest in the project.
In addition to developing the Zora field, Dana agreed to undertake exploration work in the concession area, including geological evaluation studies, seismic surveys and the drilling of exploration wells.
Yesterday, it said it had budgeted $70m to develop Zora. It estimated costs for exploration and work on one well at a further $65m, starting next year.
To date, Dana has derived all its revenue from oil and gas operations in Egypt, where it made several discoveries last year. The company is also developing a gasfield in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and is a partner with Crescent in a long-delayed project to import Iranian gas to the UAE.
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.