DOHA: Leading gas exporting countries agreed Thursday to hold their first summit in Qatar next year, as they reiterated calls for gas prices to reflect parity with oil. The announcement came after a one-day ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in the Qatari capital attended by the top three world producers - Russia, Iran and Qatar. It gave no other details about the summit's timing or agenda, but the ministers expressed concern in a GECF statement about low gas prices that “risk investment in new fields and gas infrastructure.” “I wish we could control gas prices (but) who can control the oil price or the gold price?” Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah Al-Attiyah told reporters after the meeting. The ministers appointed Egypt's Energy Minister Sameh Fahmy as the new president of the gas forum and decided to hold their next meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh on June 2 next year. They vowed to work closely in a bid to develop a stable and transparent gas market. – Agence France
