Dana Gas achieves key milestones in first year

Dana Gas PJSC, the Middle East's first private sector regional natural gas company, outlined the key business achievements made by the company in its first year since establishment, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took place yesterday in Sharjah."Just over a year ago, Dana Gas was born as a new concept, with a vision to be the first private-sector regional gas company in the Middle East," said Hamid Dhiya Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas, in the Chairman's Report to the AGM. "In the short period since its formation, the Company has achieved many important milestones: Dana Gas has grown from a small team here in Sharjah to an international energy company with the services of over 300 professional staff, offices in Canada, the UK, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and soon Iraq, and with business activities across the wider Middle East region, including North Africa and South Asia, and in all aspects of the growing natural gas sector, from exploration and production of gas, through its processing and transportation, to its marketing and utilization as a feedstock of industry." Among the highlights of the company's first year activities which were reported at the meeting included: successful completion of construction and interconnection of facilities of the UAE Gas Project in preparation for processing and transmission of imported gas supplies from NIOC later this year, the US$ 1 billion acquisition of Centurion Energy International which launched Dana Gas into the exploration and production business as the 6th largest gas producer in Egypt, acquiring a majority shareholding of an important Bahraini gas company leading a project to develop the Gulf of Suez Gas Liquids Plant in Egypt in partnership with the Egyptian National Gas Company, partnering with Emarat in the UAE to build and operate the region's first common user gas pipeline with capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day, partnering with a leading international energy technology company to build a network of regional gas terminals, starting in Pakistan, successfully securing rights to develop two of Iraq's major gas fields in the Northern Kurdistan Region, and launching the Company's first "Gas City" development in the Region. Dana Gas recorded a Net Profit of Dh 812 million for the period ending December 31st, 2006. The AGM also heard details of the company's recruitment strategy to build an organization of world class energy industry professionals, and details of the company's financial position and major planned investments for the coming year in the Middle East's gas sector through a combined growth strategy including establishing partnerships: "In addition to our two-pronged parallel growth strategy of important acquisitions as well as development of grass-roots new projects, an important part of our approach in Dana Gas is partnering with the best companies from the region and internationally for mutual benefit." Added Jafar.The AGM also approved the audited accounts for the period ended December 31, 2006, and the auditors' report. Source