French President Francois Hollande will lead a charm offensive in the United Arab Emirates next week to try and help oil major Total win a US$10 billion deal to operate the strategically important Bab sour gas field.
By deploying Mr Hollande, Paris hopes to outmanoeuvre rivals including Britain, which is to send a Foreign Office under-secretary in support of Royal Dutch Shell, at an Abu Dhabi energy conference, where the deal will be discussed on the sidelines.
Aside from its value, the Bab ultra-sour gas deal could also give Total a competitive edge in talks for the 2014 renewal of the UAE\'s largest onshore oil concession, ADCO, on which the Bab field stands.
\"Hollande is set to have a three-hour meeting with the country\'s ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan,\" a French diplomatic source said. The meeting will be the centrepiece of Hollande\'s lightning one-day visit on Tuesday.
By deploying Mr Hollande, Paris hopes to outmanoeuvre rivals including Britain, which is to send a Foreign Office under-secretary in support of Royal Dutch Shell, at an Abu Dhabi energy conference, where the deal will be discussed on the sidelines.
Aside from its value, the Bab ultra-sour gas deal could also give Total a competitive edge in talks for the 2014 renewal of the UAE\'s largest onshore oil concession, ADCO, on which the Bab field stands.
\"Hollande is set to have a three-hour meeting with the country\'s ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan,\" a French diplomatic source said. The meeting will be the centrepiece of Hollande\'s lightning one-day visit on Tuesday.