NICOSIA — Iran, Qatar and Russia said the three nations have agreed to
establish a natural gas cartel.
Both Iran and Russia said a so-called gas OPEC would be established.
They said Qatar has agreed to the move, but did not say when the
organization would be formed.
"We have made major decisions," Iran's Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari
said. "There is a demand to form this gas OPEC, and there is a consensus to
set up gas OPEC."
Officials said the three countries — the three leading gas producers —
have agreed to form a panel to help form the gas cartel, Middle East Newsline reported. Qatar, a key ally
of the United States, did not immediately endorse the decision.
"We have decided to be in close contact and we can say that today a
major gas troika was formed," Russia's Gazprom chief executive officer
Alexei Miller told a news conference on Oct. 21 in Teheran.
