Delegates who attended the 8th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF) held in Doha last week have chosen Qatari energy minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah as temporary secretary general of the organisation.
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The Algerian energy ministry, Chakib Khelil, has been chosen as deputy of the secretary general.
Delegates representing 12 countries including Algeria, Bolivia, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Norway (observer), Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, and the UAE (guest) and Qatar attended the forum.
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The GECF first started in 2001 when major gas producers Russia, Iran and Qatar held their first meeting in Tehran to discuss its formation. Until the seventh ministerial meeting in Moscow, the GECF operated without charter and fixed membership structure.
The 15-member GECF, at their seventh ministerial meeting held on 23 December 2008 in Moscow, adopted a charter and decided to locate the headquarters of its new secretariat in Doha, Qatar, the world’s biggest source of liquefied natural gas shipments.
The GECF aims at enhancing cooperation amongst producing and consuming countries, the exchange of expertise in gas exploration and transportation, and to draw up frameworks for world gas markets.
Since its conception, GECF members have stressed that their gathering is not aimed at setting up a gas exporters’ cartel.
The founders also welcome participation by consuming countries to take part in the development of the gas industry in cooperation with exporting countries.
Participants have agreed to meet in Doha next December.
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