OPEC expected to keep output of crude steady

LONDON -- Terror attacks on the United States together with fears of a dramatic slowdown in the global economy create a backdrop of uncommon urgency for OPEC oil ministers meeting this week to review their crude production quotas.

As suppliers of almost 40 percent of the world's oil, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have the power to help shore up the buckling global economy -- or speed its descent into recession.

Stakes are high for Wednesday's meeting in Vienna, Austria -- a meeting some OPEC delegates and energy analysts had earlier envisioned as routine.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, some analysts believe OPEC members might discuss reversing this month's cut in output of 1 million barrels a day -- though the cartel is likely just to renew its existing quotas.

OPEC has a production target of 23.2 million barrels a day, after having slashed its official production this year by a total of 3.5 million barrels a day in an effort to keep prices firm.

In the wake of this month's terror attacks, the United States, the world's most voracious oil importer, is leaning on OPEC to keep prices and supplies stable.

Within hours of those attacks, OPEC member countries were committed to market stability.