ABU DHABI, Oct. 20 — United Arab Emirates (UAE) natural gas firm Dana Gas said Saturday that the first propane cargo of its joint-venture in Egypt had been loaded at the beginning of October.

“Our joint venture, the Egyptian Bahrain Gas Derivatives Company or EBGDCo in Ras Shukhei in Egypt is first of its kind in the Gulf of Suez region,” said Dana Gas, headquartered in the UAE sheikhdom of Sharjah.

EBGDCo’s first cargo shipment of propane was achieved on Oct. 1, 2012, “signaling scheduled plant production start-up on a commercial basis,” said Dana Gas, whose shares are listed at the Abu Dhabi stock market ADX, in an e-mailed statement.

Once fully operational, the 125.44 million U.S. dollars plant will extract 120,000 tons per annum of propane and butane from a gas stream.

Dana Gas shares hit a six-month high at 0.48 Dirham (0.13 dollar) last Tuesday, before dipping slightly amid profit takings.