The activities of the Sixth Summit of the Global Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) kicked off today, Tuesday, February 22, 2022, amid the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis that threatens energy supplies to Europe.

The forum - in which member states own more than 70% of the world's reserves - is holding its sixth summit under the patronage of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and includes the high participation of a number of state leaders and oil and gas ministers in the member states.

sovereign rights

The forum aims to support the sovereign rights of member states over their natural gas resources, and their ability to independently plan and manage sustainable, effective and environmentally sensitive development, and to use and preserve natural gas resources for the benefit of their people.

It seeks to build a mechanism for a more meaningful dialogue between gas producers and consumers, for the stability and security of supply and demand in the global natural gas markets.

The forum includes 11 member states: Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

It also includes 7 member states as observers: Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Norway, Peru and the United Arab Emirates.

The full share of the member states amounts to more than 70% of the world's natural gas reserves.

In the list of the top ten countries out of the total of the 18 permanent members and observers, there are 4 Arab countries: Qatar, Algeria, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Birth and founding

  • 2001

    : The first ministerial meeting of the forum's member states was held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and was attended by the governments of: Algeria, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Norway (observer).

  • 2002

    : The second ministerial meeting of the Forum was held in Algeria.

  • 2003

    : The third ministerial meeting was held in Qatar, where the 15 countries agreed to establish a liaison office as a focal point for data collection and supervision of projects of the World Economic Cooperation Forum.

  • Between 2001 and 2003

    : The basic structure of the forum was formed from a ministerial meeting as the highest decision-making body, and a meeting of experts as a technical advisor to the forum.

  • 2004

    : The fourth ministerial meeting was held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where the ministers stressed the importance of fair prices for natural gas and the need for joint investments and research among member states as a means to enhance cooperation and the need to exchange information and data.

  • 2005

    : The Fifth Ministerial Meeting was held in Port of Spain, the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, at which the Executive Office was selected, which later became the Executive Council.

  • 2007

    : The sixth ministerial meeting was held in Doha, and the achievements of previous meetings were reviewed, and a recommendation was made to establish a statute for the forum, to expand the liaison office to become the secretariat of the organization, and to formulate its internal regulations. A high-level committee was established that held meetings in Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela and Russia throughout the two years 2007 and 2008.

Forum work agreement

  • December 23, 2008: Ministers held their seventh meeting in Moscow, where the Gas Exporting Countries Forum Work Agreement and the Statutes of the Forum, documents that form the legal basis for the Forum, were signed, thus transforming it into a full-fledged international organization.

  • The word "Forum" has been retained in the organization's name, to reflect its open and democratic nature.

  • Kazakhstan and Norway were accepted as observer members, and the city of Doha in Qatar was chosen as the venue for the forum.

  • June 30, 2009: The Eighth Ministerial Meeting was held in Doha, Qatar.

  • December 9, 2009: The Ninth Ministerial Meeting was held in Doha, Qatar, where the Netherlands was included as an observer.

  • April 19, 2010: The tenth ministerial meeting was held in Oran, Algeria.

  • December 3, 2010: The eleventh ministerial meeting was held in Doha, Qatar.

  • June 2, 2011: The Twelfth Ministerial Meeting was held in Cairo.

  • November 13, 2011: The Thirteenth Ministerial Meeting was held in the Qatari capital, Doha.

  • November 15, 2011: The first summit of leaders of member states of the Gas Exporters Forum was held in the Qatari capital, Doha.

  • The summit was held at the initiative of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and was attended by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Equatorial Guinean President Obiang Mbasogo, and Nigerian Vice President Mohamed Namadi Sambo.

  • The representation of the rest of the member states in the forum came with energy ministers.

  • The Sultanate of Oman has obtained membership in the Forum.

  • November 21, 2012: The 14th Ministerial Meeting was held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

  • The Ministers approved the request of the Republic of Iraq to be included as an observer member.

  • July 2013: The second summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was held in Moscow.

  • November 3, 2013: The fifteenth ministerial meeting was held in Tehran.

  • December 16, 2014: The sixteenth ministerial meeting was held in Doha.

  • The meeting agreed to include Peru as a new observer member of the Forum.

  • November 21, 2015: The seventeenth ministerial meeting was held in Tehran.

  • The Ministers approved the admission of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a new observer member of the Forum.

  • November 23, 2015: The third summit was held in Tehran.

  • November 17, 2016: The Eighteenth Ministerial Meeting was held in Doha.

  • October 4, 2017: The 19th Ministerial Meeting was held in Moscow.

  • Forum decides to establish an institute for gas research in Algeria.

  • November 24, 2017: The fourth summit of the Forum was held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

  • November 14, 2018: The 20th Ministerial Meeting was held in Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

  • The Ministerial Meeting welcomed the Republic of Angola as an observer member of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

governmental organization

12 December 2018: Recognition of the Forum as an intergovernmental observer organization of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Recognizing that natural gas, as the cleanest fossil fuel, plays a vital role in the global energy mix and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

- November 29, 2019: The Fifth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

- For the first time in the history of the forum, the summit will be held on the African continent, where six African members, namely Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Nigeria, dominate the total gas production in Africa.

These six countries contributed 213 billion cubic meters to the production of marketed gas in 2018, and constituted about 93% of the total gas produced on the continent.

December 8, 2020: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) signed a memorandum of cooperation.

marketed production

The forum says on its website that its members provide 44% of marketed production, account for 52% of pipelines, and 51% of LNG exports worldwide.

Russia leads the member states in terms of production volume with a total of 638 billion cubic meters annually, which constitutes 16.57% of the total global production in 2021, followed by Iran with production of 249.6 billion cubic meters, or 6.48%, and Qatar 205.7 billion, or 5.34%.

And in January 2022, the annual global LNG report issued by the International Gas Union said that Qatar will top the list of gas producers globally by 2026, in production and exports.

According to the International Federation, the production of the Qatari North Gas Field project will begin to gradually increase annual exports of liquefied natural gas, from 77 million metric tons currently to 110 million by 2025, and then reach 126 million by the end of 2027.

It is estimated - according to a report by the World Gas Forum - that the cost of building production trains in the North Field expansion is about $28.75 billion, and part of the costs will be covered through self-financing, as Qatar Energy Company issued multi-tranche bonds worth $12.5 billion.

4 general secretaries

  • The Russian Leonid Bukhanovsky

    : Leonid Bukhanovsky, Vice-President of the Russian company "Stroytransgaz" was elected Secretary-General of the Forum at its ninth session, held in Doha on December 9, 2009, and assumed his duties in early January 2010, and continued until 2014.

  • Iranian Mohammad Hossein Adili

    : He held the position of Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum from 2014 until 2018.

  • Russian Yuri Sentyurin

    : He held the position from 2018 to 2021.

  • Algerian Mohamed Hamel

    : He was appointed on November 18, 2021 as Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, succeeding the Russian Yuri Sentyurin.