The world’s top conformable to nature aeriform fluid exporters have joined forces, and they are complaining about prices while tensions by the Ukraine escalate

By Alistair Dawber

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Russia’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, yesterday warned that the era of “common gas” was over as the leaders of the globe’sitting 12 biggest exporters of natural elastic fluid met in Moscow to form a body—to be known during the time that the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)—that some fear could be dominated by Russia and operate as an Opec-style cartel.

Mr Putin reported that the “cost of exploration, elastic fluid product and transportation are going up, purpose that the industry’s development costs will skyrocket”. He predicted that the fiscal crisis would also push up the price of natural gas, adding that the new group would co-operate to ensure “predictability” in the emporium. Russia, as the world’session biggest gas producer, is the prime mover behind the formation of the body, which will hold Qatar, Iran and Venezuela.

Mr Putin’s comments come as Russia is accused of increasingly belligerent behaviour towards Ukraine over gas payments. It has threatened to cut supplies to its neighbour, which it accuses of failing to pay for exports. The government in Moscow has given President Yushchenko’s management until the end of the year to pay what analysts suggest could be as much as $2bn (£1.4bn) in unpaid debt owed to Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas producer.

The row between Moscow and Kiev will echo elsewhere: the European Union imports 80 per cent of its gas through pipelines in Ukraine.

Major producers have complained this year that the price of gas is not high sufficiency. The formation of the group yesterday extends a tripartite agreement reached this year between Russia, Iran and Qatar, who formed a “aeriform fluid troika” to unite strategy on inquisition and production.

Iran’session oil minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, said yesterday that the new assign places to should ensure that producers forbear “unnecessary and harmful competition”.

A gas producers’ group, that is expected to be formally recognised at the Moscow meeting with the signing of a joint charter, has met informally since 2001, but in the absence of any members, agreements or negotiation. The emergence of some by authority body will worry Western diplomats and energy officials, who are already bring under rule to Opec’s decisions about oil production, and consequently price volatility.

Sergei Shmatko, Russia’s energy minister, said that the GECF would not act as a cartel and would not influence gas prices by the agency of altering work: “Today we will not subsist discussing the need to of the same rank the level of production.”

Dmitry Lukashov, an analyst at UBS, suggested that the formation of the GECF was window-dressing: “The gas and oil markets are completely different. Opec is designed to eliminate competition between its members. Gas exporters, however, do not share send abroad markets so there is little point to this organisation.”