TEHRAN, Sept 26 (Shana) � Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says the upcoming informal meeting of the member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algeria on Wednesday is not expected to be anything more than a "consultative gathering" of crude oil suppliers.

Speaking to Shana while departing Tehran for Algiers to attend the International Energy Forum (IEF) to be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Algiers, Zangeneh said the current market conditions are not favorable for crude oil producers and consumers in the mid- and long terms.

He said reduction of investment in oil industry will hurt consumers in the long run, but added that "the ground is being paved for market stabilization."

"The informal OPEC meeting on the sidelines of the IEF is aimed by the participants as a consultative gathering and should not be expected to be anything more than that," he said.

He further said the negotiations during the meeting will be used as a warm-up for the November OPEC assembly in Vienna.

The top Iranian energy official also said that he will meet the CEOs of several leading energy companies during his stay in Algiers including Total CEO Patrick Pouyann�.

The informal OPEC meeting on Wednesday, in Algiers, is being held in a bid to reach a consensual agreement to stabilize oil market by major oil producers.

Organized on the sidelines of the 15th International Energy Forum (IEF) to be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Algiers, the meeting is meant to bring closer the views of OPEC member countries to find a solution and support crude prices, with the hope of getting non-OPEC producers to adhere to a possible decision of rebalancing the market.

By SHANA