Bahrain intends to push ahead with plans to buy gas from Iran, despite the concerns of the US. Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, said in a published report that negotiations with Tehran to import one billion cubic feet of gas per day were “very important” and “real”. Oil ministers from the two sides met in Bahrain's capital, Manama, last week and agreed to a “framework agreement” on the deal. Bahrain faces potential gas shortages in the future. Although the Gulf region is rich in hydrocarbons, little attention has been paid to developing gas, and only Iran and Qatar can claim to have ample supplies of the resource as economies rapidly expand. Qatar has put a moratorium on its North Field, the world's largest reservoir of pure gas, until at least 2010, causing Bahrain to look farther east to Iran. Bahrainis admit they would prefer to have other options but see none available at present.
