Dana Gas is not in talks with the Syrian government about investing in the country, the chief executive officer of the UAE-based company said on Sunday.

UAE press reports in early October said the company, which already has overseas operations in Egypt and Iraq, was in advanced talks with Damascus to enter the Syrian energy sector.

But the Gulf's only listed natural gas company says it is no longer in talks with the Syrian government, with foreign companies increasingly discouraged from doing business with Damascus because of sanctions against the Syrian government.

'Although the company has reviewed opportunities in Syria last year, it is currently not involved with any discussions with the Syrian authorities nor has signed any contracts or agreements,' Dana Gas CEO Ahmed Rashid Al Arbeed said in a statement to the UAE stock exchange on Sunday.

European and US companies have shied away from dealing with Syria as their governments ratchet up sanctions against Damascus over months of violent crack downs on protesters seeking President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.-Reuters