Gas Exporters’ Forum: Qatari Absence & Libyan Arrival

The opening of the 12th Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum in Cairo was marked by the absence of officials from Qatar, where the group has its headquarters, in a possible sign of their displeasure over Libya’s attendance.

Qatar’s energy minister, Mohammed Saleh al Sada, was due to attend the meeting today and address a news conference this afternoon. As of 12:30 p.m. in Cairo, no Qatari delegation had arrived. It was unclear if Qatar would attend later in the day.

Forum representatives refused to say if Qatar was boycotting the meeting due to the presence of an official from the government of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Qatar supports Libyan rebels fighting forces loyal to Qaddafi. The Qataris may be staying away from the forum “as a statement to warn what could happen in OPEC if Qaddafi is allowed to represent Libya in that organization,” said Samuel Ciszuk, a Mideast energy analyst at IHS Global Insight in London. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to meet on June 8 in Vienna to review production targets.

Qatar may want to send a message to OPEC that next week’s “crucial meeting could be seriously weakened if the Libyan government is allowed continued representation,” Ciszuk said by telephone. An official at state-run energy company Qatar Petroleum declined to comment when asked about the Qatari absence. Leonid Bokhanovsky, the forum’s secretary general, attributed Qatar’s absence to “extraordinary circumstances,” without elaborating.

The Libyan representative, Mosbah Ali Matoug, attended the gas forum today and sat behind a miniature green flag of the Qaddafi regime. Matouq declined to comment on Qatar’s absence.