Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 January / corr. Trend A. Badalova/ The Participants of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (PGECF) are expected to establish an organization of leading gas-exporting countries, an international organization built on the principles of oil OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). The charter of the new organization which will fully adhere to the charter of oil OPEC can be introduced in the regular meeting of the forum to be held in Moscow in June 2008, newspaper Kommersant reported.
The US opposes the establishment of such an organization and says that the new gas OPEC will cause problems for the producers and consumers. Furthermore, it is likely to lead to the dramatic rise in gas prices.
However, the Russian analysts say that the establishment of the gas OPEC will not affect the gas and oil prices in the world markets. "There is no need to speak about the regulation of the prices in gas OPEC," Timur Khairullin, the analyst of Antanta Kapital said Trend.
According to Khairullin, only several countries will deal with the directions of the gas export and the volume of the gas supply. "About five gas exporting countries ( Russia, Iran and CIS countries) will coordinate the direction of the gas export and the volume of the gas supply and not all of them will be forced into one door at the same time," Khairullin said.
PGECF is currently discussing the transformation of the informal organization, which does not have any centralized authority, into a significant organization of the gas supply.
According to Khairullin, unlike the oil market, the gas market is largely dependent on the pipeline routes. "The gas producers are less flexible to the choice of purchaser which is connected with their dependence on the pipeline routes. Therefore the choice of the target region-consumers and the construction of the pipeline are of great significance," he said.
According Batunin, the analyst of the Alfa Bank investment company, the establishment of gas OPEC as a short-range outlook is impossible. According to him, in order to establish the organization it is necessary to hold auctions as in the case of oil-loading cargos. "Currently there is not enough free gas all over the world to hold that kind of auction," Batunin said.
The establishment of gas OPEC was first initiated by Iran.
PGECF was formed first in 2001 in Teheran. The forum does not have a charter. The countries taking part in the forum are Algeria, Bolivia, Venezuela, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Qatar, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Equatorial Guinea.