Egypt joins international gas cartel

CAIRO:  According to the semi-governmental al-Ahram daily newspaper, Egypt’s parliament has ratified a deal officially confirming the North African country’s participation in an international gas cartel.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), a “gas equivalent” of the OPEC oil cartel, comprises Qatar, Russia, Algeria, Bolivia, Venezuela, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago and Equatorial Guinea.

The GECF was established in the Iranian capital Tehran in 2001. Its charter was adopted at the seventh ministerial meeting in Moscow in 2008.

The paper quoted Egyptian members of Parliament as saying that the country’s involvement in the international gas system would enable Cairo to obtain advanced technologies of natural gas prospecting, mining and transportation, gain access to analytical and research information and participate in international gas transportation projects.

Egypt’s proven natural gas reserves total 1.89 billion cubic meters. Egypt exports both natural gas and liquefied natural gas, holding the sixth place in the world in terms of gas exports.