ALGERIA: The world's biggest gas producers meet to decide their pricing strategy as a glut of the fuel slashes profits
Record ID:
573787
ALGERIA: The world's biggest gas producers meet to decide their pricing strategy as a glut of the fuel slashes profits
- Title: ALGERIA: The world's biggest gas producers meet to decide their pricing strategy as a glut of the fuel slashes profits
- Date: 20th April 2010
- Summary: ORAN, ALGERIA (APRIL 19, 2010) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS AND DELEGATES AT CONFERENCE RUSSIA ENERGY MINISTER SERGEI SHMATKO TALKING TO JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian translated into English) RUSSIAN ENERGY MINISTER SERGEI SHMATKO SAYING: "We should make some effort to add stability to the gas market." SHMATKO TALKING TO JOURNALISTS DELEGATES AND SECURITY STAFF ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE ALGERIAN ENERGY AND MINES MINISTER CHAKIB KHELIL JOURNALISTS KHELIL ADDRESSING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALGERIAN ENERGY AND MINES MINISTER CHAKIB KHELIL SAYING: "We agree that ensuring adequate and reliable supplies of gas at prices reflecting parity with oil prices and the advantages of natural gas is a challenge, taking into consideration that natural gas is an essential part of the fuel mix and plays an important role in satisfying the global need." KHELIL IN NEWS CONFERENCE. KHELIL LEAVING
- Embargoed: 5th May 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Algeria
- Country: Algeria
- Topics: Economic News,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVACF8T7BMS25MMV13JNQ3WJOKLT
- Story Text: Many of the world's biggest gas exporters gathered in Algeria on Monday (April 19) in search of a plan to boost gas prices without causing further pain for any members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
Energy ministers from Europe's three biggest external gas suppliers -- Russia, Algeria and Qatar -- hope the diverse group of gas exporters can find a mutually beneficial way to stem a flood of gas that has slashed their profits for over a year.
But what the countries currently competing to sell fuel into a saturated market, largely because of a surge in alternative gas production in North America, can agree to remains vague ahead of the ministerial meeting in the Algerian port of Oran.
The GECF members account for about 70 percent of the world's conventional gas reserves but are suffering in a global market where demand for their product has been dampened by slow economic growth and an unexpected surge in alternative gas supplies in former imported gas guzzler the United States.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said: "We should make some effort to add stability to the gas market."
Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil told a news conference: "Ensuring adequate and reliable supplies of gas at prices reflecting parity with oil prices and the advantages of natural gas is a challenge, taking into consideration that natural gas is an essential part of the fuel mix and plays an important role in satisfying the global need."
Khelil's country supplies about 20 percent of Europe's gas. Algeria said earlier this year the forum's member countries should agree coordinated cuts in spot market supplies in a bid to reverse the slump in gas prices in Europe in particular.
The forum has been dismissed by many energy analysts as a talking shop that cannot hope to emulate the power of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
It has made no attempt to coordinate supply policy before and the gas market is seen as harder to manage because most natural gas is delivered under long-term contracts, therefore producers do not have the flexibility to influence prices by adjusting output.
As the U.S. market has lost some of its appetite for imported LNG, tanker gas suppliers like Qatar and Trinidad and Equatorial Guinea -- all GECF members -- have been forced to look for other markets for some of their cargoes, which have often ended up in Europe, driving down prices and hitting Algerian and Russian pipeline sales. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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