Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is unlikely to cut production quotas at its next meeting, said Mohammed al-Olaim, the oil minister of Kuwait, OPEC's fourth- biggest producer.

``I think not much change will happen for the time being,'' al-Olaim said today in an interview in Al-Zour, southern Kuwait. Any changes to OPEC output limits will depend on ``analysis'' between now and September, he said.

OPEC, which supplies more than 40 percent of the world's oil, will meet to review production targets in Vienna on Sept. 9 and then in Algeria on Dec. 17. The group has this year maintained an official output limit for 12 of its 13 members at 29.67 million barrels a day.

``Supply is going to continue as it is, no reduction. By all means there is no cut in production, although there is a very big drop in prices,'' al-Olaim said.

The Persian Gulf nation ``isn't worried about a drop in prices,'' or reduced demand, for now, al-Olaim said.

``An economic recession in the United States, or slow growth, and a cooling of the geopolitics problem, could lead to more of a drop in prices,'' he said.

Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as $3.41, or 2.8 percent, to $118 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange earlier today on speculation Tropical Storm Edouard will leave oil rigs and refineries undamaged along the coast of Texas.

Oil has lost almost $30 since touching a record of $147.27 a barrel in New York on July 11 as unprecedented fuel costs prompted U.S. consumers to limit spending. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index of 26 raw materials fell 3.25 percent yesterday, its biggest loss since March.

Kuwait pumped 2.59 million barrels of crude a day in June, according to Bloomberg estimates. Saudi Arabia, followed by Iran and the United Arab Emirates are OPEC's three biggest producers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fiona MacDonald in Kuwait FmacDonald4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 5, 2008 07:58 EDT