“There would be no bond this year but starting 2012, we could be seen going to the market,” Doug Fraser told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in the UAE capital.

“We have a note coming in October 2012 for $1.5 billion. In advance of that, we would complete a financing.”

Investor demand for quasi-government debt from the region led to a flurry of new bond issues in the last quarter of 2010, which was expected to continue into this year.

However, political unrest across the region is likely to delay potential bond sales.

Significant refinancing and infrastructure needs however will likely ensure that debt capital markets remain a preferred source of funding for regional borrowers.

TAQA, which is 75 percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, plans to invest $2 billion per annum in the short-term in capital investment excluding acquistions, Fraser said.

“It is in organic investment, capital invested in existing assets across the world.”

In 2011, $1 billion is committed to investing in oil and gas and another $1 billion in other assets such as power and mid-stream, he said, adding the company is always looking at acquisition opportunities, without elaborating. Higher commodity prices helped TAQA, in which the Abu Dhabi government has a 75 percent stake, swing to a fourth-quarter net profit, and the company has continued its expansion plans.

TAQA could invest in shale oil and gas, something the firm had looked at a few years ago but which did not materialize, Fraser said.

“There is a possibility in future. It is something we could do,” he said but ruled out investing in the nuclear energy field.

“Nuclear energy in the UAE? No. We are an Abu Dhabi entity. Nuclear is at the federal level in the UAE,” he said.