UAE GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Dolphin Plans U.A.E. Gas Pipeline Work in Mid-June [May 27]
“Dolphin Energy Ltd., the Abu Dhabi state-controlled venture transporting natural gas to the rest of the United Arab Emirates, is planning five days of pipeline maintenance in mid-June, cutting shipments into the country. The work will cut gas supply from Qatar to the U.A.E. through the pipeline by half to about 1 billion cubic feet a day, Dolphin said in an e-mailed statement today. The Dolphin pipeline, 51 percent-owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co., imports about 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily under long-term supply contracts with state-run Qatar Petroleum. The U.A.E., which holds about 8 percent of global crude oil reserves, needs to import gas to fire power plants as energy demand grows. The pipeline work had been planned to start tomorrow and Dolphin delayed the maintenance to “optimize our onshore and offshore shut down operations,” it said in the statement..” [Complete Report]
UAE to Gain From New Trade Terms [May 27]
“Dubai’s economic recovery could be quicker than anticipated, Stephen King chief economist at HSBC Holdings said in Dubai on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at the Capital Club, King said Dubai, currently going through a debt restructuring, will recover relatively quickly due to the rising oil prices and the good infrastructure it has built over the past few years. Last week the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in its regional outlook that Dubai’s debt refinancing challenges are manageable and should be viewed in the context of the global financial crisis. Dubai’s gross domestic product (GDP) represents 33 per cent of the UAE’s GDP and 55 per cent of the UAE’s non-hydrocarbon GDP. The IIF estimates Dubai’s debt at about $107 billion, equivalent to 136 per cent of its GDP while the UAE’s a net foreign asset position is projected at $280 billion at end-2009, or about 130 per cent of GDP..” [Complete Report]
UAE Humanitarian Convoy Carries 700 Ton of Aid Into Gaza Strip [May 27]
“A convoy of trucks carrying around 700 tons of emergency humanitarian food and medical aid from the UAE has entered Gaza Strip to help mitigate the humanitarian conditions of Palestinian Gazans. The UAE’s most recent Gaza relief operation is being carried out by the Red Crescent Authority, or RCA, in coordination with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a Palestinian Presidential Committee, the UAE Embassy in Cairo, Egyptian Red Crescent Society and Palestinian Red Crescent. The humanitarian aid convoy has been sent to Gaza upon directives from President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It receives support from H.H General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces and is being closely followed up on by H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, Chairman of RCA..” [Complete Report]
