Eurasia Review, April 19, 2010
Algerian Minister of Energy and Mining Chakib Khalil said on Monday that it was premature for the gas exporting countries to launch a cartel along the same lines of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Speaking to reporters following the 10th Forum of Gas Exporting Countries (FGEC) which came to a close in this northwestern Algerian city earlier this evening, Khalil said the gathering aimed to "lobby for a strategy to revive the gas market rather than launching such cartel which is premature at present."
"What is most important for the FGEC member states in the near future is to find highly-qualified cadres to run the forum and coordinate the energy policies relating to the gas industry," he said.
Since its initiation in Moscow in December, 2008, the Doha-based FGEC has provided a platform for the gas exporters to exchange information and experience in all issues of the gas industry, the Algerian minister pointed out.
Highlighting the importance of a common strategy backed by all FGEC member states to revive the global gas market, he said any unilateral haphazard moves to cut down the gas output are "unlikely to impact the global market."
"An FGEC technical team will work out a supply-and-demand mechanism for stabilizing the gas market," Khelil disclosed.
"All efforts must focus on setting a fair price for both exporters and importers in order to encourage investment in the gas industry and protect the interests of consumers," he explained.
Commenting on the purported gas-oil price pegging, he said a mechanism for this purpose is under development.
"A fair LNG price should be USD 13 instead of the current USD four per mBtu (million British thermal units)," he believes.
The FGEC will wait until next October to decide on crucial steps to revive the market.
The forum will meet in Doha, capital of Qatar, on December 2-3, 2010, to probe the report being developed by an FGEC team.
Doha will also play host to the FGEC summit in December, 2011, he added.
Source: KUNA
