ABUJA, September 4, 2008 (AFP) - Nigeria's oil minister said Thurdsay that he had an open mind about what oil producers group OPEC should do at its meeting next week.

Oil prices have fallen heavily in recent weeks since hitting record highs above 147 dollars in July because of fears that a slowing global economy will dent demand for energy.

Some OPEC members have expressed concerns over the falling prices, sparking speculation the cartel could cut output if the price falls below 100 dollars.

'I'm keeping an open mind,' Junior Minister for Petroleum Odein Ajumogobia told AFP ahead of next Tuesday's OPEC meeting in Vienna.

'We haven't seen the end of the volatility and I think we should wait and see how things settle down ... before we take a step to intervene,' he said.

Ajumogobia said he preferred to be cautious and adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

'When the price was going very high, there was a lot of advocacy that countries should produce more, (but) I have always maintained that the price was driven by factors other than the supply and demand and I still think so,' he said.

The OPEC cartel consists of 13 countries, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia. it is to meet in Vienna next Tuesday to decide on its output policy.

On oil markets Thursday, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, climbed 65 cents to 110.97 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for October gained 37 cents to 108.43 dollars.