Qatar says gas prices are unfair

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123741§ionid=3510213


Qatar's says gas prices should be more closely connected to that of crude oil, refusing however to cut natural gas output to help boost prices.

"Current prices aren't fair. They should be linked to oil prices,” Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah told reporters Sunday in Algerian city of Oran, where the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) ministerial meeting is to kick off.

He added that during the meeting his country intends to "discuss mechanisms to stabilize (gas) prices."

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, attending the meeting, said world gas producers should cooperate to limit the impact of spot sales on their long-term deals.

In late March, Algeria proposed countries participating in the forum to reduce gas exports to restore balance in the global gas market.

Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil has said that current gas prices were too low and should be raised. He has said the ideal price for gas should account for one sixth of the price of a barrel of oil.

Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela are members of the GECF.

The GECF headquarters is situated in Qatar's capital Doha. In December 2009, the GECF elected Russian Leonid Bokhanovsky as its secretary general.