Iran Moves Closer to the United Arab Emirates, Drifts Away from EU?

After praising Bulgaria and asking Sofia to become a bridge to Europe, Iran signed a preliminary agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for exports of compressed natural gas (CNG). 

The two countries reportedly reached a final agreement for CNG containers to the UEA, said deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company Mansour Riahi, as written by PressTV and Trend on Thursday.

According to reports, Iranian authorities have signed the licence for Iranian private companies to export to foreign countries, and Abu Dhabi should be the next recipient of Iranian gas, after Iraq, Pakistan, and Oman.  

Over the last weeks, Teheran sounded upbeat over exports to Europe. It remains unclear whether the deal inked on Thursday will have negative ramifications on possible deals with European companies. 

Earlier this month, Natural Gas Europe reported that Iran has its sights set on resuming economic ties, especially in energy sector, with his number one European partner Germany after an increase in good imports.

Meanwhile, Iran said that gas production capacity should rise to 400 billion cubic meters (bcm) by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2020). 

“It has been projected that the country's gas output will hit 400 bcm by 2020”, Planning director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hassan Montazer Torbati said in Teheran, as reported on NIGC’s website. 

Also on Thursday, boats believed to be manned by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces fired warning shots at a Singapore-flagged ship in the Gulf off the coasts of the UAE, in international water. Vessels from the UAE were sent to the cargo vessel.