Iran, Russia and Qatar have agreed to increase cooperation on jointprojects - an initiative that may lead to a group resembling the oilexporting cartel, OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum ExportingCountries).
Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari discussedplans with Qatar's energy minister, Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiya, andthe head of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, Alexei Miller, Tuesday inTehran.
Nozari said the three countries reached a consensus toestablish a gas version of OPEC, though his counterparts did not saythey reached a firm commitment to form such a cartel.
The UnitedStates and European nations have expressed concern about a potentialgas cartel, worrying that it could lead to price manipulation.
Analystssay a natural gas cartel would not have the influence over gas pricesthat OPEC has over oil because the markets for the two commodities aredifferent. Natural gas contracts tend to be very long-term, while oilcontracts are relatively shorter and more prone to price swings.