© Provided by DW
The headquarters of the Qatari state oil company in Doha in a file image.
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) began its work on Sunday (20.02.2022) in Doha before a summit on Tuesday to examine the means to increase its production, in the midst of a pushed price hike, partly because of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. It will be the sixth presidential summit that the body has held since its establishment in 2001 and will focus on trying to increase production in the medium term.
According to the official Qatari news agency, QNA, after a preparatory meeting this Sunday, tomorrow the Forum’s energy ministers will meet and on Tuesday the summit of the heads of state and government of the eleven members of the group will be held. It includes Qatar, Russia, Iran, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, countries that represent more than 70% of the world’s gas reserves. Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Peru are observer countries.
Before Tuesday’s summit, the organization holds ministerial-level meetings this Sunday and Monday, according to the program released by the organizers. The meetings are being held behind closed doors and no information was leaked on Sunday. The organizers did not specify whether President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting. According to the official Iranian press, Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi will go to Doha on Monday and the Algerian, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, arrived in the Qatari capital last night.
A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The members of the FPEG will surely reiterate to Europe that they cannot commit to orders without long-term contracts, Thierry Bros, a professor at the School of Political Sciences in Paris, said a few days before the summit. To supply gas to Europe, producing countries must make significant investments to increase their production. The European Union is reluctant to sign contracts of 10, 15 or 20 years.
lgc (afp / efe)