The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada with dignitaries at the Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran.
DOHA: The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada has called for maintaining the stability of the global gas market and to promote investments in new gas projects for the best interests of producers and consumers.
Speaking before the Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, the Minister said: “Member countries of the GECF have great potential to contribute in the growth of the global economy, which has been recovering due mainly to the increase in the demand for natural gas as the main component and environment-friendly in the energy mix.”
The Minister stressed the need for follow-up and implementing the declarations of Doha and Moscow summits, including the full and permanent sovereignty rights of member states in developing and utilising its natural resources and in the need to ensure security of demand and supplies.
Dr Al Sada also wanted the need for highlighting the environmental aspects of natural gas as a clean source of energy at the upcoming 19th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP19) to be held next week in Warsaw, Poland.
In his opening remarks the President of the Ministerial Meeting BijanNamdar Zanganeh gave an overview of developments in the gas markets and outlined the challenges facing the GECF, and its Member countries.
He emphasised the need for the Forum to enhance Member countries’ cooperation and expand exchange of experience, promote synergies toward adoption of common policies, raise the dialogue-profile of GECF internationally and create conditions for the updating of contracts and pricing mechanism to enhance producer-consumer risk-sharing.
The ministers and heads of delegations exchanged views on recent developments in the international gas markets and reaffirmed their commitment to the Moscow Declaration, which sets a framework for GECF Member countries to collaborate and cooperate in the development and use of their natural gas resources.
The GECF Ministerial Meeting discussed the challenges facing the global gas industry, and the participants exchanged views on various issues in the global gas market. The meeting agenda included presentations on gas industry development, the mechanisms that motivate the markets at present and the anticipated ones in the future, in addition to the various energy policies in the main consuming countries and areas.
The presentations also included the LNG potentials and expectations of demand and supply, the impact of economic development, a detailed overview of the map of natural gas production, the confirmed global reserves that exceed 187 trillion cubic meters, and an analysis of the production and consumption trends.
During the meeting, Mohamed Hussein Adli, the candidate of Iran, was elected as the new Secretary General of the GECF, succeeding Leonid Bokhanovsky whose tenure ends in December this year. The meeting also approved the organisation’s operational budget and work plan for 2014.
At the conclusion the meeting, the members agreed to hold the 16th Ministerial Meeting in November 2014 in Doha, which hosts the GECF’s permanent office. The Peninsula
