The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the global voice of the leading gas producing countries, held its 41st Executive Board Meeting on 16-17 March 2022, via videoconference.
The first EB Meeting of the Year 2022 enjoyed the participation of Member Countries Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, newly-joined Mozambique, Norway, and the UAE joined as Observers.
The EB Members reviewed various deliverables, updates and milestones, such as the recently-held 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government, and set the ball rolling for various projects and initiatives in the months ahead.
Capturing the essence of the Meeting, Chairperson Ms Penelope Bradshaw-Niles, Executive Board Member from Trinidad and Tobago, called 2022 a “critical year” for both the GECF and the GECF Secretariat.
“The industry is going through a period of transition, and work of the GECF will become even more instrumental for all of our countries,” she said.
Beginning from 2022, the GECF is under the helm of a new Secretary General, HE Eng. Mohamed Hamel, who will draw from his 30+ years industry experience to supervise the development of the next version of the Organisation’s Long Term Strategy, the restructuring of the GECF Secretariat and the elaboration of its 5-Year Working Plan.
Furthermore, the Executive Board took steps to begin the crystallisation of the Doha Declaration of the 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government by establishing a working group that will explore joint initiatives, including on climate action in view of COP27 in Egypt, a GECF Member Country.
In other items, the Executive Board reviewed progress on the next editions of the GECF publications, including the Global Gas Outlook 2050, Short Term Gas Market Report, and the Annual Statistical Bulletin. A number of existing and upcoming vacancies, revising job descriptions, and supporting a GECF membership drive were some of the other topics on the agenda.
The Executive Board is a governing body of the GECF, second only to the supreme authority vested in the Ministerial Meeting. It directs the operational affairs of the Forum, implements the decisions of the Ministerial Meetings, and considers the yearly Programme of Work of the Secretariat for further approval by the Ministerial Meeting, in accordance with the GECF Statute, Long-Term Strategy, and the 5-Year Working Plan.