The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Tuesday that the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman are mulling a Gulf natural gas network by integrating their gas pipelines.
Suhail Al Mazroui, minister of energy and industry of the UAE, was quoted by the UAE official news agency WAM as saying that the linkage will follow the model of the Gulf power grid linkage.
He added that later on the linkage would stretch to include Kuwait and Bahrain, in a move expected to enhance the energy security in the Gulf region.
Mazroui expected the relevant studies to be finalized soon.
On the expansion of the power grid linkage of the Gulf states, the UAE minister said his country has already had plans for the commercial linkage with Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, which is expected to start soon.
There is also plan for a linkage with Ethiopia in a bid to build a network that stretches among the countries in Asia and Africa, he said.
Mazroui voiced optimism about the balance of the oil markets and the energy sector in general soon, by injecting new investments into this vital field.
Under the Energy Strategy 2050, the UAE aims to increase the use of solar energy by raising the rate of solar energy from its power generation to up to 44 percent during daytime, Mazroui explained.
He added this is the part of the UAE bid to strike a balance between the use of gas and solar energy.
Editor:Cherie
