The 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is being held from 29 February to 2 March 2024 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. Billed as the "Summit of Major Challenges", it will focus on the role of natural gas in the transition to renewable energies.
The 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) begins on 29 February 2024 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. “The holding of the summit in Algiers is an extremely important strategic event in the field of energy, in that Algeria will be working to strengthen the partnership between countries, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thus promote the place and role that it will have to play as part of sustainable solutions for future energy”, explains Mohamed Arkab, the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines.
Against a backdrop of mounting pressure to speed up the dialogue on targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out the use of fossil fuels, the GECF sees natural gas as the key to the transition to sustainable energy.
Today, the use of natural gas is developing more rapidly in other areas, such as power stations and industry, “because of its energy efficiency and environmental qualities”. According to NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), natural gas is the key to a prosperous future and a just energy transition for Africa.
Taking Tanzania as an example, the AEC president points out that from wells and a gas processing plant on Songo Songo Island, which now generates around 45% of Tanzania’s electricity, the East African country has created over 114,000 jobs and significantly reduced its carbon emissions (at the Tanzania Portland Cement Company alone, CO2 emissions have been cut by around 80,000 tonnes a year). Songo Songo’s gas production also provides a cleaner source of energy for Dar es Salaam’s power stations, replacing diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
Over 69% of the world’s gas reserves
Launched in 2001, the GECF summit, now in its seventh year, will also inaugurate the headquarters of the Gas Research Institute (GRI), hosted and run by Algeria. This 7th summit will see the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the GECF and major international and regional organisations.
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Full members of the GECF are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru have observer status. They account for 69% of world gas reserves, 39% of marketed production and 40% of world gas exports. In addition, GECF member countries collectively account for more than half (51%) of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
Boris Ngounou
