Algeria to Host New GECF Gas Institute

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has selected Algeria as the home of its future GECF Gas Research Institute.

The announcement was made in GECF's concluding statement, October 4, following its meeting in Moscow.

Algerian state news agency APS said that this confirmed a resolution passed by GECF in 2015 and followed the completion of a feasibility study on the planned institute.

GECF was once characterised as a Gas Opec but, despite its heavyweight members, it has failed to replicate the Saudi-backed Opec on markets. This is largely owing to the rapid expansion of the global LNG market by non-member countries such as the United States and Australia, plus Malaysia and Indonesia.

The GECF meeting was attended by members Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, the UAE and Venezuela. The Netherlands, Norway and Oman also attended as observers.

Energy ministers from the 12 member countries reviewed both the short- and long-term gas market outlooks. Their statement also "emphasised the importance of the global community to the Paris [Climate] Agreement and reiterated their resolve to pursue the promotion of natural gas and its pivotal role in responding to the Paris Agreement’s concerns, but also as an affordable, accessible, reliable and clean source of energy."

Iran's Hossein Adeli hands over the position of GECF secretary general to Russia's Yuri Sentyurin end-2017. Sentyurin is a state secretary in his country's energy ministry and has been confirmed as the new secretary general until end-2019, fending off a Libyan challenge for the post. The forum was held during Russia Energy Week.

Trinidad's energy minister Franklin Khan was appointed president of GECF next year, with Egypt's Tarek el Molla his alternate (succeeding Russia and Equatorial Guinea respectively). The 20th GECF Ministerial Meeting is scheduled for November 14, 2018. 

Mark Smedley