Egypr Against «Gas OPEC»

Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmi said on Sunday that Egypt is opposed to the idea of establishing an OPEC-style gas cartel.

He said that Egypt's rejection to the formation of such a cartel is due to its wish to maintain transparency in international gas markets.

"We refuse the idea of building a body that controls one of the essential sources of global energy," he said in the statement.

As an organization of world's leading gas producers established in Tehran in 2001, the GECF doesn't have a fixed membership structure, however Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, the UAE and Venezuela could be identified as current members.

Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria and 10 countries at the forum control about 42 percent of world gas production.

Egypt ranks 8th on the world list of gas exporting countries and 6th on that of liquified gas exporting countries, according to Fahmi.