TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Shana) – Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has proved successful in carrying out its objectives despite the forum’s relatively short lifetime since its establishment in 2001.

He made the remarks in a televised interview on Tuesday night on the occasion of the GECF Third Summit Meeting to be held in Tehran on November 20-23.

“Heads of delegations will deliver lectures on the theme gas as the environment-friendly fuel,” he said.

The GECF is the gathering of the world’s leading gas producers that provides a framework for exchange of experience, views, information and data, as well as coordination in gas related developments among member countries.

Previous GECF gas summits were held in Qatar in 2011 and in Moscow in 2013.

“The gas summit has a very positive sign for Iran as it will convene simultaneous with the removal of sanctions,” Zangeneh replied to a question on reports that majority of heads of state and government of member countries will take part in the Tehran summit.

GECF members account for 42 percent of global gas output, 70 percent of global gas reserves, 40 percent of pipe gas transmission, and 65 percent of global trade of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Comparing the GECF and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), he said that similar to the oil organization, the forum has managed to upgrade itself in devising a tailor-made supply-demand model for the gas market.

The forum consists of 17 main and observer members with its permanent secretariat positioned in Doha, Qatar.

Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates, are main members of the gas exporting body. Observer countries are the Netherlands, Iraq, Oman, Peru and Norway.

By SHANA