(Image from Natural Gas Bank)Natural gas production by country (countries in brown and then red have the largest production)
Russia, Iran, Qatar Discuss OPEC-Style Gas Cartel
-- Yahoo News/AP
-- Yahoo News/AP
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran, Russia and Qatar discussed the formation of an OPEC-style cartel among some of the largest natural gas producing nations on Tuesday, a prospect that has unnerved energy-importing nations in Europe and the United States.
The meeting appeared to be the first serious talks about the creation of such a cartel since Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, first raised the idea in January 2007.
The prospect has raised concern in the United States and around the 27-nation European Union, which depends on Russia for nearly half of its natural gas imports. Moscow, which controls many of the European pipelines delivering gas from Russia and Central Asia, already has a tight hold on supplies.
Russia has been accused of using energy as a weapon, in particular in its disputes with neighboring Ukraine. European Union leaders have said they would stand against any Russian effort to create a gas cartel, fearing energy prices — and Russia's political clout — could rise further as a result.
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My Comment: There is enormous money in natural gas. My surprise is that it took so long to organize such a cartel.