BEIJING, June 2 -- Oil-Rich nations brushed off a push by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to cut production, but he used the OPEC meeting to push for expanding the cartel's membership and praised Bolivia's nationalization of its natural gas industry.

    Qatar's oil minister, Abdullah al-Attiyah, said before yesterday's meeting that he did not believe output should be cut now, echoing comments by other key OPEC players.

    But he said OPEC will be watching the situation between now and its next meeting in September, and could then change course.

    Many other ministers said prices have shot ever higher because of events like anxiety over Iran's nuclear weapons program, but insisted supplies are adequate even in the face of rising demand from countries such as India.

    "To tell you the truth, I won't be surprised if prices go even higher," the head of Libya's oil policy, Shokri Ghanim, told reporters. "There are so many factors like geopolitics and speculation, so there's no reason why prices won't go up."

    Though Chavez has repeatedly said an output cut is justified, he seemed to back off in a speech on Wednesday.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)