Some of Sharjah's generators are designed to burn natural gas to power their turbines, but can switch to diesel fuel if gas is unavailable. Sharjah Electricity Water Authority (Sewa) is also unique among government-owned utilities in supplying gas as well as electricity and water to its customers. To augment scarce domestic supplies, Sewa had planned to start buying Iranian gas four years ago under an agreement with Sharjah's Dana Gas. However, the deal fell through when the anticipated imports, to be delivered through an undersea pipeline, failed to materialise.
Crescent Petroleum, Dana's major shareholder and its partner in the gas project, completed the pipeline in early 2006. The Sharjah-based oil and gas group had signed a contract five years earlier with the state-owned National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for a long-term supply of 600 million cubic feet per day of gas from the Salman field in the Gulf. Deliveries of up to 219 billion cu ft a year of gas were supposed to start four years ago.
NIOC, however, delayed the completion of production facilities while it sought to negotiate a higher price. Crescent is presently seeking a ruling from an international arbitration court after protracted discussions failed to resolve the dispute and repeated threats by Iranian officials to divert the gas to its domestic market. It would have been easier for the parties to reach agreement, however, had Sewa raised the prices it charged customers for gas and electricity from levels that most analysts regarded as unrealistically low. Fuel subsidies have contributed to gas shortages throughout the Emirates, experts say, while discouraging energy conservation.
Sharjah's reliance on diesel for power generation is problematic since the oil-based fuel can be more expensive than natural gas and is more polluting. While buying diesel is costly for Sewa, at the moment the utility has little alternative. Though the emirate's population has boomed as its government has sought to establish it as a national manufacturing centre, Sharjah has insufficient natural gas reserves to meet the growing fuel requirements of its power sector as well as direct demand from factories and residences.
Still, the emirate is hoping to find more gas. Its government recently awarded an exploration and production concession covering the whole of its onshore territory to a new joint venture between Crescent and Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled oil producer. The companies expect to find gas at a site near Al Madam in Sharjah, where they started drilling in June. In addition, Dana and Crescent are developing the small offshore Zora gas field, which Sharjah shares with Ajman. They expect to start producing as much as 60 million cu ft of gas from the field next year. The gas will be brought ashore through a 30km pipeline to a processing plant to be located in Sharjah's Hamriyah Free Zone. Dana has said the partnership has identified further gas prospects in their offshore concessions.
In the meantime, the emirate is reliant upon diesel fuel to power several of its generating stations, and shortages of that fuel lead to power cuts. That load could be lightened by the development of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, which would help it fill the gap, Robert Byrniak, the chief executive of Golden Sands Management Consulting, a Dubai energy consultancy, said.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
HAJJAN
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
WHAT%20ARE%20THE%20PRODUCTS%20WITHIN%20THE%20THREE%20MAJOR%20CATEGORIES%3F
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
