Five of D-8 Member States will Meet in Moscow for Gas Forum

Moscow, Russia | November 24, 2008 by D-8 Secretariat

The ministers of the world’s leading gas producers discusssed in Moscow on December 23 the founding charter of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), according to the Russian Energy Ministry.

“The final draft of the GECF charter should be agreed on at a high-level Gas Exporting Countries Forum commission due on November 26,” the ministry said.

Russia will be represented at the meeting by Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko. The GECF was established in Tehran in 2001. It comprises Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, and Venezuela. Equatorial Guinea and Norway have observer status.

The member countries currently control about 73% of the world’s gas reserves and 42% of its production.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that fears by Western consumers over price manipulation by the group were ungrounded.

“We are aware of the concerns and fears expressed by some energy consumers,” Putin said. “There are absolutely no grounds for such fears. We are not establishing a cartel, nor are we striking any cartel deals.”

“However, energy producers, as well as consumers, have the right to and must coordinate their decisions, exchange information, and do their best to ensure uninterrupted hydrocarbon supplies on global markets,” Putin said, adding that uninterrupted supplies and reasonable prices were the main objective of the grouping.

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