However, ahead of the Cairo meeting, OPEC President Chakib Khelil this week downplayed the idea of an output decision in Cairo.
Mr Khelil, who is also the energy minister of OPEC member Algeria, indicated that the Cairo meeting was too early because ministers needed more time to study the market.
At the same time, Libya's oil minister Shukri Ghanem told AFP that "all options are open'' in Cairo -- and added that "there could be a decision'' to cut output in the Egyptian capital.
OPEC ministers agreed in Vienna last month to reduce production by 1.5 million barrels a day from November 1 as they sought to defend tumbling prices.
But the market has since crumbled, approaching the lowest levels for nearly four years on growing concern that a painful global recession could ravage demand for energy, traders said.
OPEC, whose next scheduled output meeting is in Oran, Algeria on December 17, has meanwhile signalled that it is ready to intervene on a regular basis to help prop up the market.
"OPEC output cuts are just starting to eat into crude oil supplies, and the ministers may decide to cut additional barrels when they gather in Cairo on Saturday,'' said Peter Beutel, analyst at US energy consultancy Cameron Hanover.
However, Raad Al Kadiri, an analyst with PFC Energy Oil, said the cartel was happy to wait until December to assess the situation.
"They (OPEC) seem to be signalling that they want to wait and see how existing cuts start to feed their way through... and leave any major decisions until the meeting in Oran in December.''
He added: "But at this moment in time there does not seem to be any great enthusiasm to do anything major.''
The weekend OPEC meeting will be held on the sidelines of a separate gathering of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).
The OPEC cartel, which pumps 40 per cent of the world's oil, called the extraordinary meeting in Cairo two weeks ago as prices descended towards $US50 per barrel.
Last week, Brent North Sea oil plunged to $US47.40 per barrel and New York crude touched $US48.35 per barrel, marking the lowest points for nearly four years.
That compared with their respective record high points of $US147.50 and $US147.27 per barrel, forged on July 11 on the back of rocketing supply concerns.
IFRI analyst Bill Ramsey added that prices had continued to fall because of widespread scepticism about whether the recent 1.5-mbpd cut had been enacted by all OPEC member countries.
"Some cuts have been made but I am not sure 1.5 million has been fully implemented,'' Ramsey said.
The organisation's official output currently stands at 27.3 million barrels per day.
Yesterday, meanwhile, world oil prices climbed back above $US51 per barrel, as traders digested Chinese and European moves to limit the impact of an global economic downturn.
Ehsan Ulhaq, head of research at JBC Energy in Vienna, added that any output cut in Cairo would depend on oil prices breaching $US50 again.
"It will all depend on the prices,'' Mr Ulhaq told AFP.
"If they drop below $US50, there'll be lots of pressure not to wait until December 17, but if prices stay at the present level, they can decide to wait.''
Meanwhile worries about a reduction in energy demand intensified this week as the OECD forecast that the rich world was plunging into the worst economic downturn in decades.
Traditional hawks Iran, Venezuela and Libya were widely predicted to call for lower output on Saturday.
JBC analyst Ulhaq added that the outcome would depend on Saudi Arabia, which is the biggest oil producer in the world. The powerful OPEC kingpin has yet to comment on the Cairo gathering.
Author: Jo Amey
