Azernews.Az

Iran will host the 15th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on November 3, SHANA news agency reported.

GECF`s financial and administrative issues as well as budget for 2014 are scheduled to be discussed at the Tehran meeting. The ministers will also elect GECF's Secretary General.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that the country named Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli as its candidate for the post of secretary general of the GECF.

Tehran will also host the third summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). The second summit of the GECF was held in Moscow in July.

The forum is a multi-layered and an intergovernmental organization of the world's leading natural gas producers comprising Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

GECF is an intergovernmental organization of 11 of the world's leading natural gas producers made up of Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. It was established in Tehran in 2001.

Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Netherlands and Norway enjoy the GECF observer status.

GECF members together control over 70 percent of the world's natural gas reserves, 38 percent of the pipeline trade and 85 percent of the liquefied natural gas production.

The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF - Russia, Iran and Qatar - together hold about 57 percent of global gas reserves.