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Gas Exporting Countries Forum turns to a formal organization

24 December 2008 08:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. World gas producers on Tuesday approved a charter for the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which will be headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said at a closing news conference that the ministers of gas producing countries have agreed on the charter that makes GECF, previously an informal group, a more formal organization.
The charter approves the establishment of an executive office and a Doha-based secretariat, with a secretary general to be elected during the next forum.
The GECF includes Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela, plus Equatorial Guinea, which was granted full membership at the current forum.
Kazakhstan and Norway were granted observer status.
Gas producers, who said the main goal of the new group is to monitor the gas market and conduct joint research, have agreed to exchange information concerning investment programs, and cooperate in the fields such as marketing, technology and liquefied natural gas, Itar-Tass reported.
They did not rule out possible coordination on price, however, and discussed the pricing mechanism of the gas market at the meeting as well.