Dana Gas Project in Iraqi Kurdistan over 70% Complete

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Company Chairman briefs KRG Prime Minister on Progress

Total Investment of $650 million, highest in Iraqi petroleum sector

Sharjah - March 2, 2008: Dana GasDana Gas, the Middle East's first and largest regional private sector natural gas company, has announced that its project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to supply, process and transport natural gas to fuel urgently needed local electricity generation is progressing at a rapid pace, with over 70% overall project completion to date.

The project, following service agreements signed in April 2007 with the Kurdistan Regional Government and carried out in partnership with Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum, has completed the engineering, procurement and manufacturing phases, and is now in the construction stage, using Iraqi contractors to maximise local content and economic benefit. The entire project is on track for first gas supply of 150 million cubic feet of gas per day by middle of this year, rising to 300 million cubic feet by early 2009.

The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, His Excellency Nechirvan Barzani, received Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana GasDana Gas and Chairman of the Board of Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum, who briefed the Prime Minister on progress of the project, which involves a total investment of $650 million - the largest single private sector investment in Iraq since 2003. The project implementation includes upstream development and production, processing with state-of-the-art LPG plants, and transportation of natural gas through a new 180km pipeline, in order to provide urgently-needed gas supplies to cost-effectively fuel the new power stations under construction, providing savings to the Government budget of over $2 billion annually in fuel costs. The project implementation will also provide work opportunities for over 2,000 Iraqi nationals of all ethnic groups, and provide comprehensive training in oil & gas operations for Iraq's citizens.

The meeting between the KRG Prime Minister and Hamid Jafar also covered the progress of the Strategic Alliance Protocol signed by the parties, whereby the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Dana GasDana Gas, and its partner Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum have agreed to jointly review the region's natural gas resources in Northern Iraq with a view to the optimization, development and utilization of that important resource for the benefit of the Iraqi people. The Protocol agreement includes the "Kurdistan Gas City" - a major new gas-utilization industrial complex to be built over an area of approximately 35 square kilometers, designed to promote private sector investment in a variety of gas-related industries to further benefit the country's citizens through training, job creation in the tens of thousands, and the promotion of general economic activity. The initial feasibility study for the "Kurdistan Gas City" project has now been completed, with final site selection underway.

Commenting on the positive progress, His Excellency Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, said: "We are very pleased with the rapid progress of this important project which will benefit not only the people of the Kurdistan Region but contribute to affordable electricity for the whole of Iraq. Being from the region, Dana GasDana Gas and Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum have demonstrated a unique ability to cooperate positively with local communities in a beneficial manner, while implementing this large and complex project in record time. We are confident that this important initiative by the KRG with Dana GasDana Gas and Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum will set an excellent example to other parts of Iraq for the country's economic development for the benefit of all Iraqis."

Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana GasDana Gas and Chairman of the Board of Crescent PetroleumCrescent Petroleum, added:

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About Dana Gas
Dana GasDana Gas (PJSC) is the first regional private-sector natural gas company in the Middle East, established with over 300 reputable founder shareholders from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, and some 425,000 investors from over 100 nationalities worldwide who submitted applications of over US$78 billion over ten days in the company's regional IPO in late 2005. Headquartered in Sharjah in the UAE and listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Market (ADSM), Dana GasDana Gas already possesses a network of offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UK, and Canada, with further offices opening throughout the Middle East. Dana GasDana Gas currently has assets and projects in gas exploration and production, processing, transportation and marketing in several countries, and aims to play a major role in the rapidly-growing natural gas business throughout the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region across the entire gas value chain. In addition to its current projects, Dana GasDana Gas will be expanding its activities in all elements of the natural gas value-chain, including upstream exploration and production; through the midstream transmission and distribution of gas including LNG trading; and downstream into gas-related industries and petrochemicals. www.danagas.ae

For more information, please contact:
Wajih Halawa
SAHARA PR
+971-4-329 8996 / +971-50-240 3357
wajih@saharagcc.com

© Press Release 2008