Demand for natural gas has shot up 23 percent during the last ten years, according to Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Eng. Mohamed Hamel.
Speaking at the opening session of the 6th GECF Summit in Doha, Hamel stressed the importance of natural gas as a type of clean energy in promoting sustainable development and ensuring a secure and stable energy future, with its contribution to reducing environmental damage.
He also underlined that the convening of the sixth summit in Doha is an indication of the importance that different countries attach to this forum, as well as to the cooperation between its countries to ensure supply.
He said that expectations are high and the challenges are great, and that this cooperation is significant to enhance the role of the forum, which will continue to transform into a process in which work takes place between different institutions operating in the field of natural gas.
He pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic revealed flexibility with regard to natural gas, which is important for people’s daily lives, such as electricity services, hospitals, and the economy in general.
Natural gas, he said, is a partner for renewable energy, as it provides stability and support, and gas markets are more global and more interconnected than before, expressing belief that the golden era for natural gas is still ahead of us, and it is the cleanest energy, and there is potential to achieve more important features of sustainable development.
Hamel explained that natural gas can achieve a balance between the three pillars of sustainable development, including social progress, economic development and environmental development.