Russian President Vladimir Putin urged members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) to coordinate gas deliveries at a Moscow summit Tuesday, Anadolu Ajansı reported, amid supply disruption and market uncertainty.
Putin said escalation in the Middle East had disrupted logistics and supply routes. He separately alleged Russian gas pipelines to Europe had been blown up in what he called “direct terrorist acts.” He also cited restrictions on access to specialized equipment and technology.
He proposed wider consultations among forum members during gas-market crises, including assessments of risks to infrastructure and coordination on deliveries. Putin also backed mutual swaps to improve transport routes. He said liquefied natural gas accounts for about half of global gas trade and can be moved without international pipeline networks.
Putin said European companies and households were facing higher costs because, in his view, Europe had abandoned Russian energy and broken long-term contracts. He argued that excluding Russia from the global gas market carried serious consequences for end users.
He cautioned that prices could quickly return to earlier levels and said delayed or canceled projects could leave the market out of balance over time. He argued that long-term agreements would support investment across the gas industry, from new fields and processing capacity to shipping fleets and LNG facilities. Putin cited OPEC Plus as an example of oil-market coordination and said gas exporters needed their own mechanisms.
Putin estimated that GECF members hold 70% of global natural gas reserves and account for about 40% of exports. He said gas consumption rose 1.2% last year to 4.2 trillion cubic meters. Global demand could reach 5.5 trillion cubic meters a year by midcentury, he said, while international supplies could rise about 1.5 times to 1.7 trillion cubic meters.
Putin invited delegates to next year’s 10th Russian Energy Week in Moscow.
