UAE’s Crecent Petroleum seeks arbitration in Iran gas dispute

Crescent Petroleum, the Sharjah-based oil and gas company, will take its dispute with Iran’s national oil company to international arbitration after it said the Islamic republic failed to fulfil its side of a contract for gas imports.

Eight years ago, the privately held company signed a 25-year agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for supplies of 600 million cubic feet a day of Iranian gas that were supposed to start in 2005.

But no gas has been delivered through Crescent’s undersea pipeline, which has been sitting empty for more than three years.