TEHRAN (PIN) -- The growth rate of gas consumption in the world economy over the next 20 years will occupy the first place among energy carriers. Even now many developed countries are interested in gas export.

According to experts’ analysis, the gas demands of the U.S. will increase by 70% and EU countries by 53% till 2030.
The biggest part or almost all of this gas is imported. In these conditions the ""powerful"" gas consumers try to relay the responsibility concerning risks of imperfectness of world economy on gas exporting countries, in the same time pressing gas producing countries to refuse from the right to have a joint gas exporting states body to protect their national interests and to set just prices on gas.
EU practically functions as a cartel of gas consumers and the U.S. is working on forming a similar structure in the Western Hemisphere. With the support of Washington, the closest allies of U.S. , such as Poland , support the idea of creation of so-called ""energy NATO"", which, due to these plans, has to defend the interests of the Western countries in oil and gas sphere by way of military measures. It is natural that gas exporting countries got involved in coordination of their steps to protect their own interests.
Western and energy importing countries are mainly concerned over the establishment of such organization out of concern that the grouping would destabilize their interests in the energy market.
But one of the main threats for gas and oil producing countries is the aggressive policy of Washington, which tries to have exclusive control over trade in all the energy resources. For example, the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2007 adopted a bill (NOPEC), which forbids formation of any kind of cartels of hydrocarbons exporting countries. Americans claim that creation of oil and gas bodies like OPEC is illegal and foreign countries should be persecuted if they do so.
This bill permits the American administration in the face of general prosecutor to pursue the governments of ""disobedient"" states by the American legal system and exclude their right to use immunity before the courts on the American territory. The same document is discussed in the Senate.
The attempts of Washington to forbid gas and oil organizations are a clear violation of the international law and the equality of rights of independent states. Some effective countermeasures should be taken against these steps of the U.S.
So, the discussions of gas prices and coordination of the policy of hydrocarbons exporting countries, which are free participants of the energetic market, is normal and standard practical work. The initiatives of Washington all over the world have one direction -- to support and provide the interests of American and European transnational corporations and at the same time attack national oil and gas companies of hydrocarbons producing countries.
Highlighting the advantages of gas to other energy resources, it must be said, gas is more environmentally-friendly compared to other fossil fuels, releasing less carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matters into the air.
Some 40 percent of gas reserves are situated in Middle East, with Iran holding 14.9 percent, Qatar 14.3, Saudi Arabia 3.8, and the United Arab Emirates 3.4 percent of the world gas reserves.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad also has defended the idea of an organization of gas exporters similar to OPEC.
A gas organization ""will be beneficial for all the countries which have important oil and gas reserves,"" Ahmadinejad said in a newspaper interview in August.
""The question of energy will arise today, tomorrow and in centuries to come. The countries which have oil and gas reserves must find the means of coordinating their actions well.""
Iran’s Petroleum Ministry is planning to host an expert meeting of gas exporting countries during the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2007).
Qatar is due to host a meeting of gas exporting countries’ experts in November to decide about the next meeting of the experts.
Under such circumstances, Iran has to develop the initiative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in setting up a gas exporting states body. It is obvious that the main idea of such an organization doesn’t imply any threat to gas consumers and setting up unacceptable prices for consumer states, but the aim of this organization is to get together the main producing gas states, for example, Iran, Russia, Qatar, Venezuela and so on, to minimize the American influence and pressure and not to permit Washington to keep back the revenues of gas exporting countries