European natural gas markets will remain oversupplied in the foreseeable future, despite supply disruptions due to the political upheaval in key North African producer countries such as Libya, said GDF Suez SA's (GSZ.FR) co-CEO Jean-Francois Cirelli Thursday.

The imbalance of supply and demand in Europe will continue for a number of years, he added.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an energy conference in Berlin , Cirelli said lost supplies from Libya have been replaced with deliveries from other producing countries such as Qatar .

Next year there will still be "a lot of supply," said Cirelli, who is also the president of the European Union of the Natural Gas Industry known as Eurogas.

Asked when he expects Europe will return to a more balanced supply and demand situation Cirelli said the market won't become much tighter in 2012.

Cirelli added that many market observers are expecting the market to become tighter in 2013 or 2014, but cautioned that the industry has previously "made mistakes in forecasting" supply and demand.

He added, however, that the imbalance between supply and demand in Europe will continue for a number of years.

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