ABU DHABI - The Dolphin Programme.

Shaikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, the eldest son from Shaikha Fatima, in March 1999 came up with the Dolphin Programme as part of UOG's ventures. The resulting Dolphin Energy (DEL) is an integrated company with a set of projects, to be worth about $8-10 bn, to develop and produce natural gas in a part of Qatar's huge North Field, buy and transport it by pipeline to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Oman and Pakistan. In partnership with TotalFinaElf and Occidental, DEL will have units to market and distribute the gas in each of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Oman and Pakistan. It will replace Gasco and ADNOC in the marketing and distribution of gas in Abu Dhabi (see Gas Market Trends No. 3).

Union Water & Electricity Co. (UWEC), owned by the Abu Dhabi government, is having a 656 MW and 100 MG/d plant built at Qidfa, Fujairah, in a project supervised by UOG. To be commissioned in the third quarter of 2003, the plant will be fuelled by gas to be supplied by Gasco in the initial phase and by DEL eventually.

Ahmad Bin Ali Al Sayegh is the CEO of DEL and heads UWEC. Previously he used to be head of ADNOC Management Support Directorate. As he was launching a new corporate logo for DEL in Dubai last October, Sayegh said the company was to delay the start of construction of its upstream facilities at the North Field by up to six month. He said first gas production and supply to the UAE markets would not be expected before 2006.

Oasis International Leasing Co., an offset JV between British Aerospace Asset Management and UAE investors grouped by UOG, was established in Abu Dhabi in early 1998. In late 1998 structured a lease finance package for the LNG tankers of ADNOC's National Gas Shipping Co. (NGSCo). The deal has freed up funds for ADNOC, enabling it to finance several expansions at the Ruwais industrial zone. The lease finance package involved Oasis buying NGSCo's eight LNG tankers and then leasing them back to NGSCo. Oasis arranged syndicated loans from local and international banks for companies set up to own the NGSCo assets.