MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] and Qatar's state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Petroleum are considering joint investment projects in the energy sector, the Russian state gas giant said on Thursday.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani held a working meeting on Wednesday in Berlin to discuss energy cooperation.

"The sides discussed possibilities for Gazprom and Qatar Petroleum to implement joint investment projects and unite efforts in third countries," the Russian energy giant said in a statement.

Qatar holds the third place in the world in terms of natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran. Qatar's proven natural gas reserves stand at 25.8 trillion cubic meters.

Qatar has stepped up natural gas production in the past five years to 43.5 billion cubic meters in 2006 and 49.5 billion cu m in 2007. The Middle East state produces all its natural gas at the North Field discovered in 1971, located off the northeast coast of Qatar.

Qatar is becoming a major player on the global natural gas market by developing liquefied natural gas production and exporting LNG to markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America.