SHANGHAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday the kingdom and OPEC remained committed to a stable crude market and would fill any shortages in world supply ``whenever they happen and for whatever reason.'' ``There is a lot of concern in the area of price stemming from concerns of a potential shortage in supply, I can assure you there will be no supply shortage,'' Naimi told delegates at the World Petroleum Conference in Shanghai.

     ``We in Saudi Arabia, and in joint cooperation with other OPEC producers, are committed to a stable oil market. We will make up shortages in supplies whenever they happen and for whatever reason.''

     Crude prices jumped last week to close to $30 a barrel last week after hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

     The oil market is wary of military retaliation by the United States on the perpetrators and the possible spread of violence and potential disruption to crude supplies.

     Traders remain nervous that military reprisals may have a destabilising effect on the Middle East where two-thirds of world petroleum reserves lie.
^ REUTERS@