Iranian complexities for Emirati gas consumers

For the UAE’s troubled energy consumers access to gas from Iran is a tiresome and not very successful process – as the experience of Sharjah’s Dana Gas deal seems to show. Imports from Iran to Sharjah have been delayed for over a year and a half, as both sides are yet to agree on a gas price, and Iran has yet to complete building the facilities to pump gas to the UAE. Internal Iranian politics provide a further obstacle as various factions in the Islamic Republic argue about the need to channel gas into the domestic market, rather than meeting export needs.