Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) are seeking a financial adviser for the project to build a terminal for importing gas on the Fujairah coast.

The scheme would enable gas imports for the UAE to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow stretch of coastline that Iran has previously threatened to block.

Several international banks have been approached to pitch as advisers on the project, which is expected to receive its first imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2014. Despite its huge oil reserves, the UAE is short of gas and needs to import it for planned schemes in the power, petrochemicals and metals sectors.