INTERVIEW - Algeria sees global LNG recovery in 2-3 years

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The global slump in demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is temporary and demand will recover within the next two to three years, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said in an interview on Monday.

"If we look at the long term, definitely from the environmental point of view and from the point of view of satisfying global demand, there is going to be a big need for natural gas," Khelil told Reuters.

"So we think that this is just a transitory problem and it is going to pass away within two or three years and things will come back again, especially as, because of this crisis, lots of investments that had been planned have been postponed," he said.

He said though he did not expect a recovery any time soon in LNG exports to the United States, but added Algeria had little exposure to this market.

"We know that the U.S. market is probably gone for some time to come because of the huge unconventional gas that has been developed all over the United States."

The Algerian city of Oran will host a major international LNG conference in April.

Khelil said Algeria, which is building two new LNG plants to be completed within the next four years, was pursuing further LNG sales in Asian markets.

"Basically our traditional market is Japan and then Korea and of course China is a very interesting market," he said in the interview.

"With India we are already discussing (LNG exports)," he said, adding that any exports destined for India would come from the LNG plants under construction.

"So these are going to be the very interesting markets of the future ... We are already looking at the possibility of getting to those markets," Khelil said.

(Reporting by Christian Lowe and Hamid Ould Ahmed; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by James Jukwey)