Improving bilateral ties in the energy sector of the United Arab Emirates is a primary objective of diplomatic endeavors, an Iranian envoy said.
Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the new Iranian envoy to Abu Dhabi, told Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency that he aimed to strengthen bilateral ties in
the oil and natural gas sector.
"Our bilateral relations are good and (we will) try to make (them) better," he added.
Emirati energy company Crescent Petroleum signed a 25-year gas contract with Iran in 2001 using a pricing system pegged to crude oil prices. Disputes
over the pricing mechanism for the contract emerged when global oil prices topped out at $147 a barrel in 2008 before global markets plunged into
recession.
Crescent denied allegations the contract with the National Iranian Oil Co. was in jeopardy.
The United Arab Emirates could import as much as 540 million cubic feet of gas per day from the Salman gas field in Iran if the deal goes through.
Natural gas would flow from the Salman field to Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf along a 90-mile pipeline.