ABU DHABI Ñ Saudi Arabia has sought to exploit its natural gas reserves and could use its clout to double the price of energy over the next three years.   

A leading Western energy consultant said Saudi Arabia could increase the price of gas by 2011.

The consultant said other Gulf Cooperation Council producers, including neighboring Qatar, would follow.

"Nexant believes Saudi Arabia could double the gas price, and it could be timed to coincide with the LPG pricing revision due in 2011," Sean Stevenson, a senior consultant at Nexant, told a symposium in Abu Dhabi on March 3. "Other Gulf states would likely follow."

Currently, Riyad has maintained its gas price at 75 cents per million British thermal units. The price was designed to encourage Saudi gas-based industries to reduce their dependency on oil.

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