DOHA: Secretary General of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Dr Yury Sentyurin (pictured) confirmed that the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the natural gas market is limited.
In an interview with the Qatari newspaper Lusail, published yesterday, Sentyurin said that the COVID-19 is dangerous for the economy, and its effect will be temporary on the natural gas market.
There is a professional response from the international community and China to fight this epidemic, he said, adding that despite the expansion of this epidemic, it will have negative effects on global trade, including the natural gas industry.
GECF Secretary General expected that everything will become normal soon and so will the Chinese economy after the end of the Chinese New Year vacation and the complications that accompany the epidemic, expressing his hope that the market will change for the better. He denied that LNG buyers from Asia will apply the force majeure clause due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, stressing that producers and buyers closely monitor market conditions. He also expected production and consumption of gas as well as operations to continue, and states will do so for further development in their communities.
He pointed out that the situation in the Middle East, especially in the GCC countries, is highly flexible and given the LNG resources are also flexible, and if the force majeure clause was applied in a place in the world, especially in the Asian ocean, then the shipments that were supposed to go to these markets could be sent to the European continent that can absorb this production of LNG.
Dr Yury Sentyurin stressed that the situations in the region are currently safe and no complaints have yet been observed regarding the passage of ships and tankers on the Strait of Hormuz, which contributes significantly to supplying the world with energy from oil and liquefied natural gas through tankers that cross the strait on a daily basis.
Regarding the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, he said that its impossible for the forum to turn into a cartel for industry like what is happening in the OPEC, explaining that the natural gas market and global growth cannot be placed under regulatory frameworks such as that in the oil market, because it is theoretically and technically impossible to set policies to interfere in the gas market, such as the oil market.
Regarding his expectations of the upcoming Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Doha, Dr. Sentyurin said that he expects more progress regarding the global natural gas market’s considerations through new ideas and visions about further development of this industry in the upcoming Doha summit and the expected scenarios for development .
More than that, the Qatari government has prepared a special team to prepare for the sixth summit of the Forum in Doha, he said, expecting that Qatar will propose a balance in the market through the upcoming Doha Declaration for the benefit of the Member States.
SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR