The full copy of Mr. Hamel’s address follows:

Excellency Eng. Javad Owji, Minister of Petroleum, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalam-u-Alaikum and warm greetings.

I am delighted to once again be in the historical city of Tehran, and I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to His Excellency Javad Owji, the Minister of Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for his kind invitation.

When I took office as Head - Energy Studies Department of OPEC almost twenty years ago, my first official trip then was to Tehran. Two decades later, it is remarkable that my first trip since I assumed office as Secretary General of the GECF is also to this city of Tehran. Good omen, inshaAllah.

It is my honour to take part in the 26th edition of Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition.

For more than a quarter of a century, this event has positioned Iran’s energy industry as one of the best and most resilient on the international stage. The Islamic Republic’s energy history goes beyond this. Iran was one of the first countries to reclaim sovereignty over its petroleum resources. It is a founder of OPEC. Iran boasts one of the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, enjoys a prominent position in the energy world, and stood at the very foundation of the GECF in 2001. The 3rd GECF Leaders’ Summit was held in Tehran in 2015, which I had the honour to attend. Throughout 2014-2018, Iran played a stewardship role in the Forum with HE Dr Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli serving as the second Secretary General of the organisation.

Today, operating at all levels of the Secretariat staff– from management to junior positions – Iranians form the largest national group at the GECF’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, symbolising the positive contribution of Iran in the GECF community.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Natural gas has been crowned as the fastest growing hydrocarbon fuel, increasing by 26% in the last decade.

Its future is even brighter.

The latest edition of the GECF Global Gas Outlook shows that gas will become the number one fuel in the global primary energy mix by 2050 at 27%, and when combined with renewables, will form the bedrock of power generation. 

With the global population slated to grow by 1.9 billion people, and the global GDP more than doubling to reach 180 trillion US dollars by 2050, worldwide demand for energy will continue to rise despite energy efficiency improvements.

For the developing countries, natural gas is the fuel to drive sustainable development. It fulfils the promise of ’Energy for All’, reduces air pollution, and remains the least-costly greenhouse gas emissions reduction pathway.

Whilst natural gas is the cleanest of the hydrocarbon sources of energy, it could be made even cleaner. Proven technology exists to reduce gas flaring, methane venting, and even to capture, use or store carbon dioxide. Then there is the immense potential of natural gas-led ‘Blue Hydrogen’.

The GECF has the ambition to enhance cooperation in these areas, through, amongst other, our newly-established Gas Research Institute in Algeria. 

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The recent events are a clear evidence that underinvestment is detrimental to both producers and consumers. The needs are huge, estimated at around 8 trillion dollars by 2050.

The natural gas industry is capital intensive, with long lead times and payback periods. It demands policy and regulation stability.  It also requires fair value for natural gas in order to ensure sufficient investments through the entire gas value-chain and the equitable risk-sharing amongst all gas market stakeholders to sustain the security of demand, as well as the security of supply. These are the two faces of the same coin.

It is obvious that the world needs gas for a long time to come. The GECF will continue working with all stakeholders and overcome the challenges to provide efficient and reliable gas supplies to the world.

I wish you all a successful event.

I thank you for your attention.