GECF concerned about gas prices

The world’s biggest gas exporters have held their first official summit since forming an organization with members voicing concern over falling gas prices.

“The price of gas in global markets has reached an unacceptable level,” said Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad-Ali Khatibi on the sidelines of a Doha summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Tuesday.

“We see a fall in demand and an oversupply in the market and this has raised concern among gas exporting countries,” he added.

Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah warned that the global economic downturn would continue to hit the exports of the country, which is the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Iran’s OPEC governor said the members had agreed to form a committee to study ways to stabilize the global gas market, adding that the issue would be discussed in the organization’s next summit in October.

Oil prices have reached around $72 a barrel, after hitting a low of about $32 a barrel in December. However, prices are still less than half of last July’s $147 a barrel.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has so far cut output by 4.2 million barrels a day in a bid to stabilize oil prices. He said Iran was presently pumping around 3.5 to 3.6 million barrels of crude a day, in line with the country’s quota.

The 15-member Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) agreed on a charter in December, which transformed it from a loose, consultative body into a formal organization with a permanent secretariat in the Qatari capital.

Al-Attiyah was named the organization’s interim secretary-general and members agreed to appoint a permanent chief administrative office in the October summit.

The GECF also agreed to grant the Netherlands observer status. Kazakhstan and Norway are the other countries, which have so far attended the GECF meetings as observers.