Indonesia not interested in becoming GECF member

The government is not interested in becoming Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) member because gas in the country is prioritized to meet domestic consumers? needs, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said on Tuesday.

?Up till now, Indonesia is not interested in becoming GECF member,? he said when he met secretary general of GECF Leonid Bokhanovsky in Jakarta, adding that even though Indonesia is not a member of GECF, Indonesia would keep contact with members of the GECF.

?We?re not part of the country?s gas exporters,? he added.

GECF is an intergovernmental organization of some of the world's leading natural gas producers. GECF members together control over 70% of the world's natural gas reserves. The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF--Russia, Iran and Qatar--alone hold about 57% of global gas reserves.

The GECF was established in Tehran, Iran, in 2001. The members are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Kazakhstan and Norway are observers. (godang)