Consensus on Egypt's proposals at international gas exporting countries forum
Egypt, Economics, 2/4/2002

The international gas exporting countries forum, currently in session in Algiers, saw an international consensus on the proposals tabled by Egypt on drawing up a new system to market natural gas and probe new means for contracting between producers and consumers guaranteeing stability in the world gas market.

The concurrence crystallized in the speech delivered by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika before the conference Saturday as he stressed the importance of cooperation between importers and exporters of natural gas.

He said this forum comprises 12 major natural gas producers and exporters and possesses more than 100 billion cubic metres of gas, which represents more than two-thirds of the combined world gas reserves.

Bouteflika said "the essential investments to develop natural gas projects require mammoth capital we cannot afford with our present means, which makes it incumbent on us to stick to long-term contracts".

The Algerian President further noted that this century represented an important juncture in the history of gas industry, whose importance would maximize in the few years to come as one of the resources of energy.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi said in an address that the big rise in world consumption of gas was parallel with an increase in production, which gave buyers more flexibility.

He expected the new system of gas pricing would strike a balance between buyers and sellers.

Fahmi accentuated the exigency of cooperation between gas producers and exporters to attain short-term and long-term objectives in all gas industry fields and transport economics in light of the expected rise in natural gas consumption from 84 trillion cubic feet at the present to 160 trillion cubic feet in the year 2020.

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