Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said that world oil markets were "well balanced" and OPEC would consider options based on the current "comfortable" situation. "Markets are well balanced, and supply is somehow slightly greater than demand. Inventories are comfortable for the consumer countries and prices have started to stabilize," Nuaimi told reporters on his arrival in the emirate. Nuaimi was in Kuwait to take part in a three-day oil and gas technology conference between the European Union and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council countries and which opened early today. Asked about what the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would do at its next meeting in Kuwait on Dec 12, Nuaimi remained non-committal. "It's too early, we have to meet first and discuss all information that will be available to us and then take the decision," he said. "I think that the OPEC meeting will look into this situation, and will take a decision based on the comfortable situation," he said. After a meeting of Gulf Arab oil ministers in the Saudi capital yesterday, Nuaimi also said global oil inventories were at "very comfortable" levels with supply exceeding demand. He also called on leading oil consuming states to stop blaming the OPEC cartel for their "suffering" from high crude prices, which he said were due to taxes those nations were imposing. OPEC's current official production ceiling is 28 million barrels per day, and it maintains the option of pumping the extra two million barrels if demand requires. Prices are now in the range of 55-58 usd per barrel after reaching a record high of more than 70 usd in late August.