By Kester Ken Klumet, Economic Editor, Modern Diplomacy
Exporting oil and gas to global markets today faces multiple challenges, foremost of which is the difficulty of finding promising new trade prospects, protecting the market environment, and enhancing the ability of leaders to control their paths. These challenges and future opportunities were thoroughly reviewed and discussed during the plenary session of the 8th Summit of Heads of State and Government at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, held at the World Trade Center on 27 October 2026.
What is the Gas Exporting Countries Forum?
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) was established about 25 years ago as a specialized platform for exchanging experiences and analysis, evaluating the gas market and forecasting its trends. According to this perception, the Forum has worked to promote openness, clarity and objectivity in assessments, which are important elements for both producing and consuming countries, and for the global energy sector in general.
The eighth summit of the forum is an occasion that brings together leading countries in the production and supply of natural gas to global markets.
Exporting countries have contributed to strengthening global energy security and achieving balanced development within major countries and economic regions. This is especially true of new economic growth centers in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where energy consumption is increasing, cities are expanding at an accelerated pace, industrial facilities are emerging, and electricity demand is rising in the industrial, transportation, and digital economy sectors, including data storage and processing centers.
Gas exports face increasing challenges
Natural gas will continue to strengthen its position as one of the cornerstones of the global energy system, industry, agriculture and international trade. However, this role poses a major challenge to the gas industry, especially in light of the current turmoil.
Tensions have increased in the Middle East, a major hub for global gas production, disrupting existing supply chains and transport and supply routes. As a result, the global gas industry is facing uncertainty.
These circumstances have led many investment plans to be put on hold or put on hold, and some have even been canceled altogether. And this naturally increases the risk of long-term market imbalances.
And with gas demand still growing, producers around the world must ensure a stable and reliable supply.
How can challenges be addressed?
Despite the difficulties facing the global gas industry and the urgent need to address them, new barriers to cooperation should not be erected, but rather strengthened, especially among gas exporting countries.
First: Diversifying transport routes and enhancing cooperation between producers
The most pressing issue at the moment is the disruption of gas supplies. Therefore, there is a need to improve transport routes, taking into account the geographical locations of Forum member States, and to take advantage of gas exchange arrangements between States, known as swap agreements.
In this context, Russia and its partners have a successful experience in multilateral cooperation to maintain balance in another major fuel market, the oil market. Joint efforts within the OPEC+ alliance have contributed to enhancing the predictability of market trends and ensuring stable supply volumes.
Second: Increasing supplies and ensuring long-term investments
Global demand for natural gas is expected to continue to rise, requiring increased supplies, development of new fields, modernization of processing facilities, and investment in transport projects, including expanding shipping fleets and developing the infrastructure needed to transport and receive LNG.
These projects require substantial and long-term investments, which should be based primarily on long-term supply contracts.
Such contracts allow importing countries to plan energy supplies for their economies, social sectors, and regional development plans over a long period of time. In return, it gives producers and suppliers greater certainty about their future sales, and helps them invest in new ventures based on predictable and relatively guaranteed returns.
Third: Technological cooperation and capacity development
Another important issue is the selection of technologies used in gas production and transport infrastructure projects, as well as the training and qualification of specialized cadres.
In this context, there is a need to strengthen technological cooperation among gas exporting countries, and to build close partnerships that bring mutual benefits to all parties.
And Russia is constantly working to strengthen its technological independence, including in the gas sector, and confirms its openness to cooperation and the exchange of technical developments in this field.
Until recently, companies from European countries were working alongside Russia in gas fields, in parallel with cooperation with Chinese partners. At this point, Russia is exploring possibilities for cooperation with U.S. partners.
Future course and recommendations
Based on serious and constructive discussions, a range of pathways can be identified to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between natural gas producers and suppliers, and develop a common understanding of global industry trends and future prospects.
One of the key tracks is to intensify the exchange of views on the state of the international gas market, identify common steps needed to stabilize, ensure a fair balance between supply and demand, and maintain global energy security.
And the Moscow Declaration underscores the growing importance of gas as an affordable and environmentally friendly energy resource and an important element for the long-term sustainable growth of the global economy and industry.
The Declaration reflects the conviction of the importance of achieving balanced development in the energy sector for producing and exporting countries, and the need to ensure supplies that meet the needs of cities and communities with high population density, while maintaining a fair balance between supply and demand and maintaining global energy security.
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