Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is expanding its retail network for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, sold at “reduced prices”, according to state news agency WAM.

From 15 November, UAE nationals can purchase 25 kilogrammes cylinders of LPG, a mix of butane and propane gas used for cooking, for AED20 ($5.45) at six petrol stations in the emirate of Sharjah.

The state oil company is already selling cylinders at this price in the remaining northern emirates of Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain through its subsidiary Abu Dhabi National Oil Company For Distribution (Adnoc-FOD)

Customers purchase the gas with an ‘E-gas card’, which is issued upon presentation of passport and family book.

Abu Dhabi’s NOC is also expanding its retail petrol station network in the country’s northern emirates, after Dubai’s state-owned Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) closed down the stations outside its borders.

Enoc is recording huge losses by selling subsidised petrol, while buying most of its oil on the international markets. The company will record a loss of $735m this year, the company has said in a statement, up from a loss of roughly $400m in 2010, it said earlier in October.

Adnoc, which has access to Abu Dhabi’s vast oil riches, is now jumping into the breach by increasing the amount of stations it operates in the UAE’s north. The emirates’ rulers are hesitant to cut back on subsidies in the wake of the popular upheaval that has swept autocrats from power in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.