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The head of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) said that US shale gas will not have a significant impact on the global market supply, gulfnews website has reported.
Seyed Mohammad Hussain Adeli, Secretary General of 12 nation GECF, told reporters in Fujairah last week the shale revolution is confined to the United States.
Asked if Qatar, one of the GECF members, would be likely to lower its production output in a bid to prop up prices as US shale is sold to new markets, Adeli said “No, I don’t think so” insisting there will still be demand Qatari gas in the market.
The US has trimmed its reliance on Qatar, which holds the world’s third largest gas reserves. Qatari gas exports to the US were just 7,320mn ft3 last year- significantly lower than the 90,972mn ft3 exported in 2011, according to data from the US Energy Information Agency.
Qatar has dropped its prices as US demand on energy imports decreases. In 2011, Qatar sold its liquefied gas (LNG) to the US for $5.82 per thousand cubic feet, last year it traded for $3.45.
Speaking at the Gulf Intelligence Market Forum, Adeli said that what is going to change global gas markets is the lifting of sanctions on Iran that has the second largest gas reserves in the world.
