OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2008. Teheran hosted today a meeting of Gazprom’s delegation led by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee, Iran’s delegation led by Gholamhossein Nozari, Iran’s Petroleum Minister and Qatar’s delegation led by Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Energy & Industry Minister. This is the first high-profile meeting of representatives from three gas production countries, holding in aggregate some 60 per cent of the global gas reserves.

As Alexey Miller pointed out upon completion of the meeting: “We are united by the world’s largest gas reserves, common strategic interests and, which is of great importance, high cooperation potential in tripartite projects.

We have agreed to hold regular (three-four times a year) meetings of the “Gas G3” to discuss the crucial issues of mutual interest with regard to the gas market development. We believe that such consultations may contribute greatly to developing the agenda for the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. We share a common vision of the Forum’s objectives and tasks, as well as the need of rapidly transforming it into a permanent organization promoting steady and reliable fuel supplies around the globe.

There will be also created a Supreme Technical Committee comprised of specialists and experts from Gazprom, Iran, Qatar to discuss the implementation of actual joint projects embracing the entire value chain from geological exploration and production to transportation and joint marketing of gas.

The first meeting of the tripartite Technical Committee will take place in Doha within a week.

The meeting supported the initiative for creating an international Club of Experts and Journalists specializing in the energy sector. The Club’s purpose – to facilitate the receipt by the most recognized specialists of first-hand information concerning the urgent issues of the oil and gas sector. At the forthcoming meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow other Forum participants will be offered to join the establishment of this Club, which is planned to be named the “Energy Pole”.

Within the meeting the parties also touched upon the issues with regard to the current condition of the hydrocarbon market. As Alexey Miller underscored: “We share the opinion that oil price fluctuations don’t put in question the fundamental thesis stating that the era of cheap hydrocarbons has come to an end, and the parties will proceed from this standpoint in their work.