Emirates response on bribes for Iran gas deal
United Arab Emirates-Iran, Economics, 5/24/2006

A United Arab Emirates official today denied statements attributed to Oil Minister Mohammed Bin Dhaen al-Hamli pertaining to a gas deal with UAE's Crescent Petroleum Company.

Speaking to IRNA on condition of anonymity, the official denied that al-Hamli ever said that Iran paid a high cost to dealers to sign a gas contract with Crescent, saying this was not true. He stressed that the UAE oil minister made no remarks to that effect whatsoever.

Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, speaking to reporters on Monday, responded to a question over a statement alleged to have been made by UAE oil minister saying Iran, in order to finalize the contract, paid large sums to middlemen.

"A contract has been signed pursuant to which Iran was supposed to export gas to the UAE, but it has not reached the implementation phase," the Iranian oil minister said.

He said he had no information to be able to comment on issues relating to any undisclosed aspects of the contract, adding that he believed the "price agreed to in the contract was not appropriate." "We will not export gas if the stated price and unresolved issues are not corrected," Vaziri Hamaneh said.

He added that the contract could have been signed either at the end of the Iranian calendar year 1380 (2001) or beginning of 1381.

Previous Stories:
  Gulf states and Iran have special relations: UAE   (5/6/2006)
  Larijani briefs UAE president on Iran's nuclear case   (5/2/2006)
  Iran, UAE review security cooperation   (4/20/2006)
  Dubai re-exports to Iran reach 35 percent of total   (8/18/2005)
  Iran to pipe gas to oil field shared with UAE   (7/23/2005)

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