By the OGJ Online Staff
TEHRAN, May 22 -- Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh called for cooperation among gas-exporting countries during their first ministerial seminar in Tehran, OPEC's news agency reported.
The 11 countries participating in the seminar control represent more than two-thirds of the world's natural gas reserves, he said.
Zangeneh stressed he was not calling for a gas cartel, but he suggested cooperation could involve information exchanges on issues including upstream, transportation, marketing, and technological challenges like converting gas to liquids.
Cooperation will benefit both gas producers and consumers, leading to higher productivity and more secure supplies, he said.
"Higher energy demand, along with the changing composition of energy consumption in the direction of more natural gas use in the future, will heighten the responsibilities of the exporting countries in ensuring a steady flow of gas to the markets," Zangeneh said.
Countries participating in the seminar were Algeria, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Iran, OPEC's news agency reported.