Representatives of 11 oil-producing countries appealed in Tehran on Saturday for "dialogue and cooperation" to promote the gas industry and investments in the sector.
Some of the participating countries are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
"Our goal is not at all to create a new organization similar to that of OPEC, but to have a dialogue together on the future - that is to say natural gas," Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar-Zang-Heneh said in a statement opening the forum on natural gas.
The conference is the first of its kind.
Joining host country Iran at the two-day meeting are Russia, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Brunei, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Oman and Turkmenistan.
The Iranian Oil Ministry has taken an important step toward facilitating the exchange of views and flow of data among major gas producing countries of the world, the Tehran Times newspaper said on Saturday - Albawaba.com
