Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
Gas export by the US to Asian and European markets in the future would create challenges for members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Mohammad Hossein Adeli, the secretary general of the forum said.
The US will start exporting natural gas to the Asian and EU markets next year, Adeli said, adding that the figure will reach 60 million tons per year.
The US export will be a challenge for GECF members, while the countries are already exporting their gas to the same markets, Adeli said, the Iranian official IRNA news agency reported Nov. 22.
Australia, as well as some other non-GECF countries also will increase their gas export, he added.
Meanwhile, GECF's position in the market will be strengthened after 2020 due to increasing demand for natural gas, the official noted.
He further said that the GECF experts have worked out a global model which can be used for market forecasting.
The report reflecting the prospects of the global gas market was presented to the members in the ministerial meeting, Adeli said.
He noted that this model can be used for policy-making and planning, as well as market prediction.
The Ministerial Meeting of the GECF discussed the recent developments in the world economy, natural gas demand, challenges and competition from other fuel sources and other exporters. GECF's position on the global gas trade via pipelines and liquefied natural gas, and its important role in gas supply was also discussed in the meeting.
Adeli, the Iranian secretary-general of the GECF, was reinstated in the post for a second two-year term in the Ministerial Meeting in Tehran on Nov. 21.
GECF also approved the observer status bid by the Republic of Azerbaijan in the meeting.
Also, an extraordinary meeting of GECF was held on Nov. 21 morning presided by Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh to discuss the agenda of the Summit of leaders of member states to be held Nov. 23.
Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates, are main members of the gas exporting body.
Observer countries are the Netherlands, Iraq, Oman, Peru, Azerbaijan and Norway.
GECF members account for 42 percent of global gas output, 70 percent of global gas reserve, 40 percent of piped gas transfer, and 65 percent of global trade of liquefied natural gas.
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