Sharjah oil group sues UAE state utility - FT.com

In a rare public confrontation with the authorities, a family-owned oil company in Sharjah, one of seven sheikhdoms which make up the United Arab Emirates, has broken ranks to sue the local government.

Amid growing concerns over unpaid bills in the UAE, Fal Oil, a major independent oil supplier in the Gulf, is suing the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority and its owner, the Sharjah government, for dues of up to Dh2.7bn ($735m), according to court documents seen by the Financial Times.

As a result, the company, which operates 45 tankers and is wholly-owned by the Al-Sari family, is having difficulty repaying loans of about Dh4bn and has already hired KPMG to act as advisers to restructure the debt, the company says.

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