The 24th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) was held recently in Cairo, attended by energy ministers and top officials from members Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
Also in attendance were observer nations Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mozambique, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Minister in charge of energy of Papua New Guinea attended the meeting as a guest, as did a high-level official from Mauritania.
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla opened the meeting, noting the forum was convening at a critical time when global efforts were dedicated towards achieving the energy trilemma for security, sustainability, and affordability.
El Molla said: “As the cleanest hydrocarbon fuel, natural gas is seen as the perfect solution that strikes the right balance, and will continue to play a key role in the future energy mix.
“Egypt is eager to work closely with all GECF members to develop applicable and realistic initiatives that ensure both energy security and a just energy transition pathway.”
The meeting emphasised the GECF objective of supporting the permanent sovereignty of its member countries over their natural resources and their ability to independently plan and manage the sustainable, efficient, and environmentally conscious development, use, and conservation of natural gas resources for the benefit of their people, including through cooperation with neighbouring countries without restrictions.
It also reiterated the importance of cooperation and coordination between member countries and reaffirmed its support for genuine and strengthened dialogue between producers, consumers, and other relevant stakeholders with the objective to ensure the security of demand and the security of supply, as well as open, transparent, unhindered, and non-discriminatory gas markets.
Discussed at length was the multidimensional crisis that encompassed the economy, energy, trade, health, environment, and geopolitics, noting with concern the rising risks stemming from gloomy economic prospects, inflation unseen in decades, tightening financial conditions, and supply chain disruptions.
The meeting highlighted that natural gas markets are undergoing dramatic changes in terms of physical flows, market functioning, contractual arrangements, and investment.
It observed that while gas hubs experience extreme volatility, long-term gas contract prices are more stable and predictable.
It expressed great concern with regard to the attempts to alter the price discovery and risk management functions of markets, and to impose politically-driven price caps.
It also underlined that such artificial intervention in market functioning can only aggravate market tightness, discourage investment, and be detrimental to producers and consumers alike.
A presentation on the global gas outlook at the meeting projected that ntural gas share in the energy mix would increase from 23 per cent today to 26 per cent in 2050, underpinned by population growth; doubling of world GDP; improved standards of living; and policies and technology aimed at improving air quality and mitigating climate change.
