Gas OPEC Unlikely after Rejection by Iran, Russia

The prospect for a gas cartel among major producers resembling the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) diminished on Wednesday after Iran and Russia rejected the idea.

To begin with, I think putting the word 'gas OPEC' was a mistake, Iranian Petroleum Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid.

It was not supposed to be any organization of that sort. It was supposed to be a forum for different exporting countries to cooperate, he added.

Iran, one of the largest gas producers, was the country to suggest a gas OPEC, which was strongly opposed by major gas consumers in the world, including the United States and the European Union.

One day earlier, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky, whose country sits on the largest natural gas reserves in the world, told the same congress that there was on intention for a gas cartel.

We don't want to speak about a cartel organization that would set prices with gas quotas. Absolutely not, he said.

Both Iran and Russia are currently included in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an informal meeting of 16 gas producers.

OPEC, established in 1960, is a group of thirteen oil exporting countries which produce about 40 percent of world oil. It aims to maintain price stability through a production quota system.

 

Source: American Shipper