Venezuelan Oil Minister Ali Rodriguez said that still intended to host the summit in March but the date could be put back to ensure the fullest participation.

Rodriguez is sounding out OPEC leaders about the summit--which would be only the second in the organisation's 40-year history--during a tour of the Gulf which ends shortly.

Diplomats said a formal decision on the timing of the summit, which was due to take place immediately after a meeting of OPEC's 11 oil ministers on March 27 in Caracas, may not be taken until January.

"The ministers agreed at their last meeting (in September) that if the summit does not follow the next conference immediately, then the meeting would be held in Vienna," said an OPEC source.

The date of the meeting, which will decide whether toprolong deep output curbs, is unlikely to be changed, he said. If Venezuela finds little support for the March date, the Caracas summit is likely to be postponed until September to coincide with the next but one oil ministers meeting.