Gas exporters form new organization not a cartel

The world's biggest gas exporters have officially agreed to create a new organization with headquarters in the Qatari capital of Doha.  The new charter will transfer the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) from a loose, consultative body into a formal organization with a permanent secretariat. "A new organization has been born today ... The charter has been agreed. The headquarters will be in Qatar," Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Tuesday after a meeting of the forum's ministers in Moscow. Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE and Venezuela have regularly attended the forum's meetings while Norway and Kazakhstan have observer status. Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said the group would 'prevent unnecessary harmful competition in the market, which could damage exports'. GECF energy ministers dismissed on Tuesday the Western concerns that they aim to create a gas-OPEC. "The goal of the meeting is to transform it into a more organized format. We expect such a decision to be taken. This is a gas 'Non-OPEC'," said the deputy chairman of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexander Medvedev. Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said, "It's not a cartel. We are defending the interests of our countries. That's all."  He added, "We see in this forum an opportunity to build a solid organization, which has in its foundation the same principles that gave birth to OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)."  Iran, Qatar and Russia -- the three countries with the world's largest gas reserves - have already held separate talks in Tehran to create a 'gas troika' to expand trilateral gas cooperation and implement joint projects.  In a keynote speech to the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said higher costs of gas exploration, production and transport meant that 'the era of cheap energy resources, of cheap gas, is of course coming to an end'. Original source at PressTV

  Forum of Gas Exporting Countries drafts its bylaws. Energy:  
The nations attending the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries just want to have an organization, instead of a cartel to set prices, said Venezuela's Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez."It is not a cartel; we just defend our national interests. The purpose of the meeting is to have a more organized format," said Alexander Medvedev, of Russian state-run monopoly Gazprom. Again, the issue of gas and Russia has been a matter of concern in the West. At long last, the representatives of 15 exporting countries, including Venezuela and Bolivia, met in Moscow and announced on Tuesday the creation of an association. After many hours of talks, they agreed on common bylaws and elected Doha, Qatar, as the venue of the organization.