U.S. Senate prepared bill over banning "gas OPEC"

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that bans foreign countries to create international oil and gas organizations on the principle of OPEC.



Amendments to the first antimonopoly law of the USA - The Sherman Act adopted in 1890- allow American Office of Public Prosecutor to prosecute foreign states, which have violated this law.



Russian MFA official representative Mikhail Kaminin in connection with this bill stated that Russia thinks it is the sovereign right of every country to establish organizations in oil and gas filed. The Russian diplomat underlined it is not the first time when the United States tries to extend power of its laws "outside his national territory".



First Iran offered to create an organization of natural gas exporting countries on the principle of OPEC. This country, as well as Russia, Qatar, Algeria and several more other states that discussed in April perspectives of such an organization, produce 42 percent of world gas and have more than 70 percent of world gas resources. Norway is one of those gas producing few countries, which strongly criticized the initiative of gas OPEC.



At the international forum in Doha, capital of Qatar, Russia's Minister of Industry and Energy Resources Viktor Khristenko stated that Russia will head on high level the gas price making group, which will become the first step towards creating "gas OPEC". The next forum of gas exporting countries is scheduled in Moscow.



Strong negative reactions aroused in the United States concerning such plans. American congressmen sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Particularly they demanded to inform Russia that creation of gas cartel will be viewed as a deliberate threat to the U.S. and the gas OPEC itself - nothing else than a "global organization on extortion and racketing," RIA "Novosti" reports.