| The Gas Exporting Countries Forum will be meeting next week will to
discuss ways of stabilizing natural-gas prices, said Qatar’s Oil Minister
Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah. Prices for Natural gas in Louisiana dropped
by 19 percent this year.
Concerned al-Attiyah told reporters that, limiting the supplies in most of
the contracts is impossible because they are long-term contracts. "But, we
are going to see and discuss how to stabilize the gas price. Gas should
have a premium. It is a clean fuel, it’s a choice fuel, He said.”
Demand for gas in Europe has also dropped from 5 to 7 percent this year,
OAO Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev reported in
November. And with the fall of gas in the market today, long-term
oil-linked gas will gradually become costly .
Herman Franssen, President of International Energy Associates Inc. at a
conference in London said that block of natural-gas producers is a reality
as Russia intends to stop over-supply of fuel.
He also said that, the Forum will not set production quotas like the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. But instead, members will
communicate with each other about investment decisions.
“So they don’t all invest at the same time” and trigger an over-supply, he
said.
Russia and Iran, which have the world’s largest gas reserves, are
competing to name the first GECF secretary- general, a step in
establishing
and Iran, which have the world’s largest gas reserves, are competing to
name the first GECF secretary- general, a step in establishing a group
that may one day match the price-setting clout OPEC has in oil markets.
The appointment of a secretary general will 'jump start' the organisation
and make it more effective, said Shokri Ghanem, the chairman of Libya’s
National Oil Corp. Other members of the forum include Venezuela and
Algeria.
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