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Dubai's budget carrier flydubai said it will start two weekly flights to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg starting from October 16 as part of its plan 'to offer new and interesting destinations' to customers.

Yekaterinburg, formerly known as Sverdlovsk, is located to the east of the Ural Mountains and is the administrative centre of the Sverdlovsk Oblast region, said a statement from the flydubai.

The airline will fly on Wednesdays and Saturdays to Yekaterinburg with flight FZ901 departing Dubai at 9am and arriving in Russia at 04.15pm (local time). The return flight FZ902 will take off from Yekaterinburg at 05.15pm and land in Dubai at 8.30pm.

The Dubai flights have been priced at Dh1150 ($313), while the ticket prices from Yekaterinburg start from $400, the company said.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said: “Staying true to flydubai’s promise to offer new and interesting destinations, Yekaterinburg has much to attract both business and leisure travellers.'

'One of Russia’s largest cities, Yekaterinburg has a unique architectural flavour, featuring more than 600 monuments. Today, the city is a hub for heavy industry, as well as a key centre for business and finance,' he added.

Al Ghaith said trade between Russia and the UAE has grown considerably in recent years and the addition of a direct air link with the commercially important city of Yekaterinburg will help strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

“Yekaterinburg has a special place in Russian history but is also very forward looking. Visitors to the city will be sure to experience a taste of the rich culture of this fascinating country, both past and present,” he added.

The city is perhaps most associated with the doomed Romanov imperial dynasty and the Russian Revolution.

Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and children, were executed by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg’s Ipatiev House, the home of a leading merchant family, in July 1918.

The site is now commemorated by the impressive monument, the Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land.

Home to the prestigious Ural State University, Yekaterinburg is an important stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway and boasts the tallest building in Russia outside Moscow, the Antey III tower.-TradeArabia News Service

Iraq’s Kurdish authorities have defended a deal recently signed with Germany’s RWE to help them develop the region’s gas resources, saying the agreement was legal and constitutional.   

Iraq’s Oil Ministry issued a statement on Sunday saying that the agreement, like oil deals that the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government has signed with international companies, is illegal because Iraq’s oil and gas are federal resources.

“We will continue to successfully develop our oil and gas in line with the constitution, which was accepted by a majority of the Iraqi people,” said Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the foreign relations department in the KRG.

“We will not wait for the instructions of an unsuccessful ministry like the Iraqi ministry of oil. We express our commitment that all income will go to the federal purse and will be distributed to all Iraqi areas without favour.”    

RWE said on Friday it had signed a gas cooperation agreement with Iraq’s Kurdish regional government. Under the deal, RWE would help develop and design domestic and export gas transport infrastructure and create a route to market for Iraqi Kurdistan’s gas.

The RWE statement quoted Iraqi Kurdistan’s natural resources minister, Ashti Hawrami, as saying that up to 20 billion cubic metres of gas a year could be fed into the Nabucco pipe to bring gas to Turkey and Europe.

The Nabucco project aims to transport up to 31 billion cubic metres of gas a year from the Caspian region to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia, which supplies Western Europe with about a quarter of its natural gas.

Iraq needs to develop its gas sector and open it to foreign investment.
 But unilateral oil and gas deals negotiated by the Kurdish authorities are opposed by the Arab-led government in Baghdad in a long-running row over energy resources and revenue-sharing.

Baghdad’s opposition to oil deals that the Kurds have signed independently with foreign firms has halted oil exports from Kurdish oilfields.   

Exporting gas is also controversial in Iraq due to inadequate public electricity supplies 7-1/2 years after the US-led invasion.   

The oil ministry has pledged that domestic gas needs will first have to be covered, in particular the future needs of gas turbine powered electricity plants, before any gas is exported. - Reuters

Iran will become self-sufficient in gasoline production by March 2012, an official said in comments published on Monday by the state news agency Irna.

Iran is the world's fifth-largest oil producer but lack of refining capacity forces it to import up to 40 percent of its gasoline needs — making it potentially vulnerable to punitive international measures targeting the trade.

'We will become self-sufficient by the end of next Iranian year upon the completion of two new fuel production projects,' said Deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami.   

'Some 25 million litres per day will be added to Iran's gasoline production capacity.'    

The oil ministry said in May capacity would increase by 20 million litres with the completion of refineries in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Isfahan.

Zeighami said in June that Iran was producing about 43 million litres of gasoline per day. The threat of US sanctions on suppliers to Iran has reduced the pool of companies prepared to sell gasoline to the Opec member, although Iranian officials say the country faces no problems in buying what it needs.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly made such statements in recent months as Iran faces increased international pressure over its nuclear energy programme, which the West fears aims to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says it is only interested in generating electrical power.   

Officials say the country will end importing gasoline as it completes the construction of new refineries and also takes measures to curb consumption by phasing out subsidies.   

'Some $2 billion was allocated for development of gasoline production schemes. Around $1.3 billion has been realised,' he said.

'Building new refineries need $26 billion … $8.5 billion has been realised.'

Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said in May that Iran needed around $25 billion a year in oil and gas industry investment and could turn into an importer of oil because of the lack of such funds.         

But foreign investors, analysts say, treated Iran with caution because of mounting international pressure on the country over its disputed nuclear programme.
 - Reuters   

A joint venture between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait plans to build gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) collection and distribution facilities at the Khafji oilfield, the company said.

Khafji, which is in the Neutral Zone between the two countries, has oil capacity of around 610,000 barrels per day.

Engineering firms have until September 27 to submit their bids for the project, which is estimated to cost at least $50 million, the Al-Khafji Joint Operations Company (KJO) said on its website.

KJO is split between Aramco Gulf Operations, a subsidiary of state oil firm Saudi Aramco, and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC).

'They want to collect the gas, which is being flared, and distribute it to Kuwait and Saudi,' an industry source told Reuters.

The Middle East sits on 40 per cent of the world's gas reserves and yet suffers from a supply shortage. The only country in the Gulf with gas to spare is Qatar. The rest of the region would burn more if it could.

Most of the gas produced by both Opec members is a by-product of oil output, so when they pump less crude, they pump less gas. Tight supply has been exacerbated by Saudi Arabia's and Kuwait's adherence to Opec's oil output curbs since December 2008.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were discussing removing the zone from inclusion in Opec output curbs and transferring reductions there to other fields outside the zone, Bader al-Khashti, the managing director of KGOC told Reuters in April.

Kuwait is plugging the gap between supply and demand with imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Saudi Arabia has switched its focus to gas exploration after it completed a massive crude expansion programme last year.-Reuters

The flow of Iraqi crude from the northern Kirkuk fields to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan has stopped due to an electrical problem on a part of the pipeline inside Turkey, shipping agents said on Monday.

Pumping stopped late on Sunday, one of the shippers said.

Repair work to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports about a quarter of all Iraqi oil exports, was underway and flows were expected to resume late on Monday, both shipping agents said on condition of anonymity.

This is at least the third outage this month on the key energy corridor, which faces frequent sabotage and technical problems.

Five tankers were waiting at Ceyhan to load their cargoes, one shipper said.

'There are about 400,000 tonnes of cargo in the shore tanks. We expect the resumption of loading late tonight,' he said.

Shippers already faced delays of three days in loading times at Ceyhan before the pipeline outage, another agent said.

Officials at the Turkish Energy Ministry and Botas, Turkey's state pipeline operator, were unable to confirm the outage.

A rupture on Aug. 21 knocked out flows for three days. On August 11, an explosion blamed on the Kurdistan Workers Party, a guerrilla group fighting the Turkish army, stopped the flow of oil for two days. Two people were killed in the ensuing fire. – Reuters

Al Hamra Real Estate, a leading developer in Ras Al Khaimah, said it will start handing over the residential units located within the Al Hamra Village, the exclusive mixed-use community development project in the emirate, from next month.

The company said the third phase of its Royal Breeze freehold residential development in Al Hamra Village, which consists of five residential buildings, 170 Type A town houses and 136 Type C town houses, has entered the final stages of construction.

All the units will be delivered in phases to investors starting from next month, said a top official.

'The Royal Breeze project has progressed right on schedule and a lot of investors and property owners are now eagerly awaiting the hand over of the properties that will start in September 2010,' Ayoob Al Faraj, general manager, Al Hamra Real Estate.

Royal Breeze is a seaside and golf course freehold property development that offers excellent sea views/Golf & Lagoon views.

Only 45 minutes from Dubai airport, this unique and exclusive getaway setting is nestled at the beach front lagoon of Al Hamra Village and is designed and built based on Mediterranean style theme combined with top interiors and top-of-the-line amenities.

'The Type A town houses, which are now nearly ready for occupants, will be the first units to be delivered to investors starting next month, whereas, the Type C town houses, which have been fully constructed and are now undergoing finishing works, will be delivered by March 2011,' Al Faraj stated.

The Royal Breeze buildings RB1, RB2 and RB3 are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011 and will start handover by April 2011, he added.

Construction work on RB1 (G + 8 + 2 storey car park), RB2 (G + 14 + 2 storey car park) and RB3 (G + 14 + 2 storey car park) have already reached the top levels and finishing works are now in progress, Al Faraj said.

For RB4 (G + 20 + 2 storey car park), construction work has already reached the 15th floor and is scheduled for delivery in March 2011. RB5 (G + 14 + 2 storey car park) is now on the 13th floor, putting it on track for its delivery date in June 2011.

The type A town houses of the Royal Breeze project, offering three bedrooms, are located directly on the golf course and is just a 3 minute walk from the beach and marina. The type C town houses, featuring two bedrooms, are located in Royal Breeze Villa zone.

Al Hamra Village consists of more than 1,000 villas, town houses and 2,000 apartments surrounding a 5-star hotel and the longest 18-hole, par-72 championship golf course on a sea site. It also features a 200-berth marina, Al Hamra Palace, which is only the third '7-star' hotel to be built in the UAE, and the sprawling Al Hamra Shopping Mall.-TradeArabia News Service

National carrier EgyptAir said it has received its first A330-300 aircraft from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France. The new craft joins EgyptAir’s existing Airbus fleet of 17 A320 family aircraft, seven A330-200s and three A340-200s.

Powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, the aircraft can seat 301 passengers with 265 in economy class, and 36 in business class, said a top company official.

Captain Alaa Ashour, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir, who flew the new aircraft himself to Cairo, said, “The delivery of the first Airbus 330-300 will add value to our customer and launches new services for the first time in EgyptAir.”

The new A330-300 will be the first EgyptAir aircraft to feature onboard communications technology, enabling passengers to benefit from in flight mobile phone services and WI-FI internet access.

'This delivery is an important milestone in the history of EgyptAir. We will continue to bring the latest to customers who deserve this premium and highly competitive product,' remarked Hussein Massoud, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company.

He pointed out that the company was determined on the ambitious plan for fleet expansion and modernization.

“We are proud to be partnering with EgyptAir as they launch their new onboard communications offering on the A330,' said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer (Customers).

“Passengers can now use these innovative services from the unparalleled comfort of the A330 cabin whilst the airline will benefit from the excellent reliability and economics offered by the aircraft,” he added.

Airbus aircraft share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and resulting in significant cost savings.

In the Mena region, Airbus has sold around 1000 aircraft and has a backlog of over 500. More than 500 Airbus aircraft are flying with 48 Mena operators, representing around 40 per cent of the fleet in service in the region, he noted.-TradeArabia News Service

Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman, a premier destination for business and leisure travellers, said it has appointed Imran Sheik as its new sales manager.

In his new role, Imran will develop sales strategies, reporting and procedures to increase traffic to the property, said a company statement.

Prior to joining Ramada Ajman, Imran worked with various hotel groups in the past five years and thus brings with him a rich experience of the hospitality sector in Middle East.

Shehab Lotfi, general manager of Ramada Ajman, said: “I congratulate Imran on his appointment. In his new role at Ramada Ajman, Imran will primarily focus on the continuation of the property’s policies and work closely with the management on developing the future strategies of business development.”

On the appointment, Imran said, “I am pleased and feel proud to be associated with such a progressive group. I have been hired to bring in new business and set up robust business planning along with the management.”

“After being associated with the hospitality sector for a long time and having a thorough knowledge of the Middle East culture, I will do my best to achieve the property’s goals,” he added.

Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman is located in downtown on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road within the easy reach of the main airports and business centres in the UAE.

A 10 minute drive from Sharjah city and 20 minutes away from Dubai International Airport, the Ramada Hotel & Suites is also closer to the famous Ajman Beach Road and city’s major shopping & commercial areas.-TradeArabia News Service