Qatar's oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah told Dow Jones Monday that he doesn't see the need for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to meet before their next scheduled gathering in September in response to record high oil prices.
"There is no need for an early meeting and we don't believe there is a need for more oil in the market," Al Attiyah said in a phone interview.
World oil prices traded slightly lower Monday but remain above $125 a barrel after an inflow of investment funds and supply worries helped push costs to another record high.
Al Attiyah said that geopolitics was the main factor driving the oil market but cautioned that prices at current levels are "too high".
Qatar, which pumps about 1 million barrels a day of crude, is one of 13 members of OPEC that control about 40% of world supply.
The Qatari minister's comments follow a report by Bloomberg News last week, citing Libya's top oil official, that said OPEC would consider meeting ahead of its next schedule quota setting gathering in Vienna, Austria, on Sept. 9.
Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said Friday that an earlier gathering of OPEC is possible if the market needs more oil.
Al Attiyah said that OPEC producers have "received complaints about high prices but not about supply."
Attention is now likely to turn to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, where U.S. President George W. Bush is due to visit and discuss oil this week.