A global gas market will not be formed within 10-15 years from now, and a gas organization like OPEC will not be created until then, the Russian Minister of Industry and Energy told a news briefing on Friday.

"The OPEC was a reaction to the appearance of the global oil market. However, a global gas market will form no earlier than 10- 15 years from now, and an organization of gas exporters will hardly emerge before that," Viktor Khristenko was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

The statements by several Western countries about the forthcoming formation of a "club of gas exporters" were destructive and senseless," Khristenko said.

They seek to "create an image of a global threat with the aim to direct eyes of their public opinion to it for diverting attention from their own problems," Khristenko said.

Khristenko will attend the opening of a forum of the world's 14 largest gas exporters to be held in the Qatar capital of Doha from Monday. Participants in the meeting will discuss setting up a gas OPEC and a strategy for supplying liquefied natural gas to world markets.

World gas consumption in 2005 amounted to 2.75 trillion cubic meters, about 6.9 percent of which was liquid Natural Gas (LNG). According to the International Energy Agency, world demand for LNG will increase to 476 billion cubic meters by 2010, from 246 billion cubic meters at the moment.

Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria and another 10 participants in the forum control about 42 percent of world gas production. The 12 OPEC members control about 43 percent of world oil production.

Source: Xinhua