24-04-03 Iran has signed a 25-year agreement to sell over 14 bn cmpd of natural gas to the United Arab Emirates, a senior official for gas exports announced. The exports, beginning in 2005, will sell 14.16 bn cmpd of Iranian to the Persian Gulf emirate, confirmed Rokneddin Javadi, managing director of the Iranian Gas Exports Company.
"The contract for selling Iranian gas to UAE was closed in Esfand (Feb/March, 2003), and now preparations are underway to start the export," he added.

Javadi confirmed that Iran has also held negotiations with Armenia, that preparatory agreements to this effect have been made. Extensive research has been carried out in order to link gas pipelines between Iran and Armenia. Now that the planning and preliminary measures are completed, executive operations are to start, he added.
After Russia, Iran has the largest discovered gas reserves in the world -- with reserves approximating at 28 tcm. Around half of this lies offshore, along territory the country shares with Qatar, in the Persian Gulf.

The Islamic Republic has already been exporting natural gas to Turkey under the auspices of a $ 30-bn deal, which binds Iran to annually supply 10 bn cm (350 bn cf) of her gas. In December 2001, the two countries launched a 2,577 km pipeline, running from the north-eastern city of Tabriz to Ankara, linking gas supplies from southern Iran near the Persian Gulf.
Officials have said that Iran looked at Turkey as “a gateway for the export of its natural gas to European markets”. The country also expects to export gas to India.