Producers dismiss talks of cartel as all gas
10 Apr 2007
Some major gas producers want a less fragmented gas market and have announced that they would form a high-level committee to discuss gas pricing. However, the group, called the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which has a variable membership, accounts for virtually 70 per cent of known global gas reserves.
Gas constitutes about 20 per cent of the world''s fuel for heating, cooking and generating power.
The
group, currently meeting in Doha, said it had no plans
to set up a cartel after Russia''s energy minister Viktor
Khristenko dumped suggestions that gas exporters would
announce a "gas OPEC", pledging that Russia
would never take part in such an organisation. (See:
Russia opposes moves
to form gas exporters'' cartel)
The
world''s largest gas supplier, Russia, will head the
committee with other members also including Iran and
Kazakhstan, Algeria and Qatar, which would "elaborate
a comprehensive plan for enhancing the forum''s performance
structure and define a way forward for its future development".
Though a relatively informal grouping some of its members
had expressed interest in forming a cartel similar to
OPEC to control production and price. Venezuela and
Iran have led calls for such an arrangement, saying
this would be in the best interests of producers.
But the Russian energy minister Khristenko said he felt that the forum should continue unchanged and keep up its transparent and coordinated position towards consuming countries.
Many analysts are sceptical about whether a gas cartel could work as the bulk of gas trade is through regional pipelines and there is no global market that a cartel could seek to control as there is for oil.
Moreover,
Gas contracts also tend to be long-term, covering periods
as long as 30 years, which makes it difficult to cut
production to raise prices.