UAE to revise plans for gas expansion

The UAE is facing a severe gas supply shortage and an expected deterioration in the crisis could force it to revise plans to expand its LNG production, an Abu Dhabi gas official warned yesterday.

Despite a steady rise in domestic gas output, the shortage has widened over the past few years because of a surge in domestic consumption, prompting some power plants to use costlier diesel fuel, said Hamed Al Marzouqi, acting head of the market research at Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas).

"The UAE faces a severe shortage of gas and the effects of the coming crisis are already being felt," Marzouqi told the Gastech conference in Abu Dhabi.