Dana Gas plans to list its shares in London to gain a wider investor base and boost its stock value, a senior company official said on Wednesday.   

Dana, the Gulf's only listed natural gas company has seen its stock decline 14.8 per cent in the last six months due to weak investor sentiment in the United Arab Emirates.

"It is part of the company's plan.  We are evaluating it," Nasir Akram, director of shareholders affairs told Reuters by phone without giving a timeline.

Dana's chief executive Ahmed Al Arbeed earlier told regional daily The National that the board has been considering a London listing to lift the company's share price which has been hurt by political unrest in the Middle East & North Africa.

"Our share price is not representing the quality of assets this company has. But many others are in the same boat," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper interview.   

"Then there's the nature of our business. It is not understood by the investors in the region because the governments here control the oil and gas."    

Dana has significant operations in the UAE, Iraq and Egypt.

Last year, Dana's Egyptian operations had average production rates of 42,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), a 20 per cent increase over the previous year.

Dana's price target was cut by 10 per cent this month by research firm AlembicHC, which warned that receivables at the gas company are expected to balloon temporarily in the short term as the Egyptian government defers on payments.