Working Party on Gas

 

 

 

The Working Party on Gas had its genesis during the decade of the 1950s, a period of growing recognition within the ECE community of the role of the gas industry in meeting the fuel requirements of the region. The Economic Commission for Europe, at its eleventh session in 1956, decided to set up an Ad Hoc Working Party on Gas Problems. In the course of ECE reforms in 1990, the principal body for the ECE gas activities was given the present name - Working Party on Gas.

MEETINGS

• 19th Session of the Working Party on Gas ( 20-21 January 2009)
• 18th Session of the Working Party on Gas (22-23 January 2008)
• 17th Session of the Working Party on Gas (23 - 24 January 2007)
• 16th Session of the Working Party on Gas & Round Table on "Gas to Power" (24-25 January 2006)
  
• 15th Session of the Working Party on Gas & Round Table on Balance between Market and Regulation (18-19 January 2005)
  
• 14th Session of the Working Party on Gas  (20-21 January 2004)

Gas Supply

• 10th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on the Supply and Use of Gas (22 January 2009)
• 9th Session of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on the Supply and Use of Gas (24 January 2008)
• 8th Session of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on the Supply and Use of Gas (25 January 2007)
• 7th Session of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on the Supply and Use of Gas (26 January 2006)
• Round Table on " Long Term Security of Gas Supply in a Liberalised Market" (20 January 2004)

UNECE Study on Impact of the Liberalization of the Natural Gas Markets on Gas Demand and Price

• First Meeting on the UNECE Study on Impact of the Liberalization of the Natural Gas Markets on Gas Demand and Prices (Moscow, 26-27 March 2009) [Updated 12 Mart 2009]

UNECE Expert Group on the update of the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage (UGS) in Europe and Central Asia

• 8th Meeting of the UNECE Group of Experts on the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage (UGS) in Europe and Central Asia, 9 September 2009, Geneva, Palais des Nations, Salle XV, with the beginning at 10:00 a.m.
• 7th Meeting of the UNECE Group of Experts on the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage (UGS) in Europe and Central Asia (Geneva, 17 June 2009)
• 6th Meeting of the UNECE Group of Experts on the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage (UGS) in Europe and Central Asia (Geneva, 23 April 2009)
• 4th Meeting of the UNECE Expert Group on the update of the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage (UGS) in Europe and Central Asia (Geneva, 7 January 2009)
• 3rd Meeting on the update of the UNECE study on Underground Gas Storage in Europe and Central Asia (Geneva, 29 October 2008)
• 2nd Meeting of the Underground Gas Storage Study (Geneva, 3 September 2008)
• Update of the Underground Gas Storage Study-First Meeting (Geneva, 20 June 2008)

UNECE Study on Current State and Prospects of Liquified Natural Gas in the UNECE Region

• 2nd Meeting of Experts on the UNECE Study on Current State and Prospects of Liquified Natural Gas in the UNECE Region, hosted by Enagas, a leading Spanish energy company, and the Government of Spain (Madrid, 24 November 2008)
• Launch of Liquified Natural Gas Study, to be held on Friday , Spain, and hosted by Enagas, a leading Spanish energy company, and the Government of Spain ( Madrid, 25 September 2008)
  

OBJECTIVE

 

The Working Party serves as a forum for assessing changes and trends in the European gas situation. It favours the exchange of information and experience between ECE member-countries, considering policies, fostering international cooperation in problems of common interest and promotes the significant benefits to consumers from the use of the valuable natural resource.

 

The annual sessions of the Working Party on Gas, usually held at the end of January, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, gather together about one hundred participants representing governments, industry, private gas sector and international organisations. The Working Party on Gas reviews gas industries and gas markets developments, process of reforms, market liberalization, environmental policies of gas industry operations, major gas projects, position of gas versus other forms of energy, identify issues for intergovernmental cooperation and other issues. It decides on undertaking major studies, such as "Blue Corridor", "Underground Gas Storage in Europe and Central Asia", and "Interconnection of Gas Networks", etc. In conjunction with the session, the Round Tables on topical issues of the gas industry are organized with participation of prominent experts in the area of discussion. In addition, the Working Party on Gas reviews the work undertaken by the Gas Centre.

 

Selected topics related to upstream activities are also considered by the Working Party on Gas while other technical issues such as transport, distribution and use of gas are dealt with through the activities of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Supply and Use of Gas.