The grouping of 11 natural gas exporting countries, an extension of an informal body involving Russia, Iran and Qatar, has aroused concern in the United States and the European Union, who worry such an organization could manipulate supply.
Past meetings of the Gas Exporting Countries' Forum (GECF) have prompted suggestions it could develop along the lines of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). But a June gathering of ministers from the GECF, whose members control more than three-quarters of the world's gas reserves, yielded few collective ideas on how to tighten the market. "Have you joined the gas OPEC?" Chavez asked Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov at a meeting in Turkmenistan capital. When Berdymukhamedov replied that Turkmenistan had not, Chavez said: "Please join."
Berdymukhamedov gave no direct response. Turkmenistan, which has enough reserves to supply the European Union's gas needs for 16 years, will play a crucial role in determining future gas flows to Western consumers. Central Asia's largest gas producer, which has never commented on the "gas OPEC" idea, traditionally sells most of its gas via Russia's pipelines. Sales have been halted since a pipeline blast in April that Ashgabat says was Russia's fault.
