Emirati energy company Dana Gas said it resolved a dispute with its German partners regarding joint-venture operations in the Kurdish north of Iraq.

Dana Gas in November said German energy company RWE harmed its interests in the semi-autonomous Kurdish north of Iraq by breaching a confidentiality agreement. The Emirati company announced Monday it reached an "amicable and mutually beneficial" agreement with RWE and closed arbitration.

As part of the settlement, RWE's subsidiary in the Middle East joins the consortium, Pearl Petroleum, as a partner with a 10 percent stake.

The agreement with RWE comes one day after an international court of arbitration called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to pay Dana and its consortium partners nearly $2 billion for disputes over the development rights to the region's Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields.

"This award is final, binding and internationally enforceable, and does not depend upon any further hearings or claims and counter-claims by the parties to the arbitration," Dana said in a statement.

The KRG, for its part, said Dana's statements regarding the tribunal settlement are "selective and misleading." The Kurdish government said the award is a partial one that doesn't equate to a final determination of the issues at hand.

"Dana and its affiliates and principals have caused substantial losses to the KRG as a result of their failures to meet their obligations," it said "The KRG will continue forcefully to pursue its claims for damages and other relief against Dana, its affiliates and principals."

India taking energy demand lead
Paris (UPI) Nov 30, 2015 - With China's economy slowing, it's India that takes the lead as the country expected to take on more oil than any other, the International Energy Agency said.

"With energy use declining in many developed countries and China entering a much less energy-intensive phase in its development, India emerges as a major driving force in global trends, with all modern fuels and technologies playing a part," a country analysis from the IEA read.

A report from the Asian Development Bank said India's gross domestic product for the current fiscal year, which ends March 2016, is expected at 7.4 percent, down from the bank's estimate in March of 7.8 percent. While relatively on par with its Asian peers, China's economy is slowing from a 7.7 percent growth rate recorded in 2013 to 7.4 percent this year.

With India's economy expected to be five times larger in 2040 than it is today, the IEA, which has headquarters in France, said total energy demand more than doubles. Oil demand for India increases more than any other country and, while gas consumption triples, it plays only a minor role in the nation's energy mix.

India by 2040 relies on oil imports to meet more than 90 percent of its demand, a balance the IEA said may require "constant vigilance" in terms of global energy security." In terms of coal, as with oil, India becomes the largest consumer by a long shot, the IEA said.

Coal India, the largest coal-mining company in the world, said its production was up about 7 percent for the year.

IEA adds there may be considerable challenges to advancing a sustainable energy future for India. The ADB in October signed a $200 million loan agreement with New Delhi to support clean energy programs. It's the first installment of a $500 million lending program for India, which the bank said would catalyze private sector investments in projects ranging from wind to biomass energy.