Franklin Khan appointed GECF president at Russia meeting

Energy Minister, Franklin Khan, recently led a delegation to the 19th Ministerial Meeting (MM) of the Gas Exporting Companies Forum (GECF), held in Moscow, Russia.

At the meeting, Khan was appointed as the President of the Ministerial Meeting while the Executive Board Member of Trinidad and Tobago was appointed as the Alternate Chairman of the Executive Board for the year 2018. As President of the GECF, TT will host the 20th Ministerial Meeting on November 14, 2018.

In a statement issued on Friday last, the ministry said Khan held a bilateral meeting with Venezuela’s Petroleum Minister, Eulogio Del Pino on the margins of the meeting.

“They discussed continued energy cooperation on the advancement of the development of all cross border hydrocarbon reservoirs, in particular, the Loran-Manatee and other cross-border fields in the Plataforma Delatana and the supply of natural gas from the Dragon field in the Marisal Suave region,” the ministry stated.

The 19th ministerial meeting was attended by all member countries - Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. The Netherlands, Norway and Oman attended as observers.

GECF member countries discussed developments, opportunities and challenges of global energy markets and reiterated their resolve to pursue the promotion of natural gas as an affordable, accessible, reliable and clean source of energy and a key contributor in responding to environmental targets arising from the Paris Agreement.

Participants also “considered pertinent analyses and recommendations from the Secretariat and the Executive board including, but not limited to, the Short Term Market Analysis Report, the Five Year Working Plan for the implementation of the Long Term Strategy of the GECF, and the 2017 edition of GECF Global Gas Outlook 2040.”