Opec says no plans to raise output

Opec will not consider a plan to raise oil output when it meets next week in Abu Dhabi because the market is well supplied, Qatar's oil minister said on Tuesday.

"I have not been informed of any plan," Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said. "The price dropped over $3 a barrel on Tuesday. It seems to be that the market has reacted to physical supply as it has already dropped at the beginning of winter time."

Crude oil for January delivery dropped 0.7 per cent to $93.80 a barrel in electronic after-hours trading in New York and traded at $94.42 at 10:40 London time.

Al-Attiyah said Opec would make its decision based on the supply and demand outlook and economic forecasts. "Next week, we will look at expectations of a slowdown for the first quarter 2008," the minister said. "We cannot supply if there is no demand. At the moment, we don't see any panic on the supply side."

Qatar, the smallest Persian Gulf oil producer in Opec, produced 830,000 barrels per day of oil last month.