UAE's Dana in leap with Iraq gas deal - analysts

UAE's Dana Gas DANA.AD could transform itself from the Gulf region's largest private gas company into a mini-multinational energy player if its plan to pump gas from northern Iraq into European homes comes to pass.

Dana, whose shares have risen 15 percent in two days, stands to sell more gas at a higher price with its scheme to kick-start the Nabucco pipeline, providing a big boost to earnings -- but the project still faces some hurdles, analysts say.

"If this project was genuinely going to export gas, then we would expect the gas to be sold at higher prices in the European market relative to selling gas domestically in Iraq," said Scott Darling, an analyst at bank Nomura.