According to ILNA, from the Ministry of Petroleum, Hamid Bord said today (Sunday, October 25), upon arriving in Moscow to attend the 8th summit and the 28th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), about the importance of this summit: “Iran is one of the founders of this forum, and at this summit, in addition to examining production programs, we will negotiate with member countries on expanding energy cooperation, especially in the field of gas.”
Referring to the examination of the GECF's resolutions and common topics at the summit, he added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will present its positions in this summit on international developments and America's crimes in connection with the war and the damages inflicted on the country's energy infrastructure. We are also seeking to strengthen cooperation and coordination with countries active in the field of gas.”
The acting Minister of Petroleum said about Iran-Russia bilateral cooperation: “At the previous meeting of the presidents of Iran and Russia in Turkmenistan, general agreements were made for a gas swap. Now, the technical stages of implementing this agreement are being pursued and the agreement is almost finalized. We hope that, with the conclusion of the pipeline program that the Russian side is pursuing through the Republic of Azerbaijan, the possibility of a gas swap between the two countries will be provided in the near future.”
Development of oil cooperation with Russia
Referring to the participation of Russian companies in developing Iran's oil fields, Bord said: “The two countries' cooperation in the oil sector also continues, and four major Iranian oil fields are being developed with Russia's participation. The contracts in this sector have had suitable progress, and the necessary follow-ups to advance them with the Russian side will continue.”
He emphasized: “On the sidelines of this summit, topics related to joint oil and gas projects will also be examined with Russian counterparts, and we plan to develop the two countries' economic cooperation, especially in the field of oil and gas, more than before.”
The 8th summit will be held on Tuesday (October 27) and the 28th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum on Monday (October 26).
The summit of the member countries of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is held once every two years. The first summit of this forum was held in 2011 in Doha, Qatar, and after that, Moscow in 2013, Tehran in 2015, Santa Cruz, Bolivia in 2017, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in 2019, Doha in 2022 and Algiers in 2024 hosted the subsequent editions of this summit. Since its founding, this forum has also held 27 meetings at the ministerial level.
This forum has 12 main members, including Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Angola, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru and Senegal are also its observer countries.
Based on the announced statistics, the member countries together hold about 70 percent of the world's proven natural gas reserves, 38 percent of commercial gas production and 42 percent of the world's gas exports. These countries' share of liquefied natural gas exports is also estimated at about 47 percent.
Source: ILNA News Agency
