Iran Burning $7 Billion to Lead Gas OPEC as It Faces Sanctions

Iran will lead a club of the world’s biggest natural gas exporters as its own shipments abroad are hampered by U.S. and European Union sanctions that force the country to burn off billions of dollars worth of the fuel.

Mohammad Hussein Adeli, a former central bank governor and ambassador to Canada and the U.K., was elected to lead the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, holders of 60 percent of the world’s reserves, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters at a meeting of the group’s 13 members in Tehran today. Adeli will replace the current Secretary-General Leonid Bokhanovsky. Russia and Libya had also put up candidates.