London ? OPEC members plan an emergency meeting this month aimed at curbing runaway crude production to avert a possible price crash, a source at the producers’ cartel said Monday.

Oil ministers at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have agreed to meet April 24 in Vienna, Austria. The meeting will take place whether or not the war in Iraq has ended, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Most OPEC members have been producing at maximum capacity to keep world oil supplies plentiful during the war. However, oil ministers are increasingly worried that OPEC might be oversupplying the market just as demand starts falling to its seasonal low.

“There is some serious concern among some of the ministers that prices could be headed for a crash if they don’t act quickly to stop the trend,” the source said. “No one is talking about cutting production of course, but that would be the only feasible thing to do.”