DOHA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Qatar will merge state-owned liquefied natural gas producers Qatargas and RasGas Co Ltd, the chief executive of Qatar Petroleum QATPE.UL announced on Sunday.

The transition will take around 12 months to complete and will begin before the end of this year, Saad al-Kaabi told a news conference.

The tie-up will not reduce the two companies' operational costs at present and there will be no immediate job cuts, although there could be future reductions in manpower, Kaabi added.

(Reporting by Tom Finn; Writing by David French; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: QATAR M&A/LNG