While Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria have all told refiners and traders to expect less oil in both November and December, state oil firm Saudi Aramco has maintained radio silence since OPEC agreed on Oct 24 to a 1.5 million barrel per day (bpd) or 5 percent cut, meant to take effect from Nov. 1.

With the first tankers of November-loading Saudi crude already setting sail for refiners around the world, traders in Asia said the next opportunity to make cuts could come when the kingdom confirms loading schedules for December early next week.

A reduction in December liftings from the world's biggest oil exporter would not be felt in the market until the oil reaches refiners' tanks in January, limiting the impact of OPEC's effort to put a floor under tumbling world prices.

"I think OPEC is serious (in their intentions to cut) but I wonder why the cut notice takes time. It's too late for the November programme," a trader with a term lifter said.

Saudi Arabia normally informs customers of how much oil they can load by about the middle of the preceding month to allow them time to arrange vessels and buy extra crude on the spot market.

But it has in the past made cuts even after agreeing on initial loading schedules, for instance by limiting operational tolerance that allows buyers to take 5-10 percent more crude.

"It is hard to predict (what will happen)... If they were going to make a cut, they should have done it by now," another term lifter said.

Pressure for Saudi Arabia to go public mounted at the weekend as OPEC president Chakib Khelil told Algerian radio that Saudi Arabia was key to the OPEC's success and warned that prices could be affected if the world's biggest oil exporter took its time over the cuts.

OPEC's deal last month failed to immediately stop prices from dropping as fears of global recession and slowing fuel demand outweighed OPEC's move. But oil prices did rebound last week from lows of just above $61 a barrel last week to around $68 on Monday due to signs of improvement in credit markets. [O/R]

Other producers have already come forth with cuts, the latest of which was announced on Saturday as Iran's oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari said France's Total TOTF.PA had been informed of an oil sales cut and that sales to other companies would be announced later.

Lifters said on Monday they had yet to hear of a similar cut in Asia by National Oil Iranian Company (NIOC).

Kuwait told its lifters on Friday that it would cut supplies by 5 percent from November while the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) was first to announce cuts last week with a 5 to 15 percent reduction in December loadings but a modest 5 percent cut in November cargoes of Upper Zakum.

"We have fulfilled completely our cuts," UAE Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli told Reuters on Monday.

About half of Saudi Arabia's total exports head to North Asia. This means that a 5 percent cut would amount to about 140,000 bpd and a 10 percent reduction is close to 300,000 bpd, or two thirds of the cut the kingdom is requested to make following OPEC's decision.

One lifter said it may not be too late for Saudi Arabia to come out with a cut in November liftings yet.

"We usually arrange loadings by the fifth of the month so Aramco still has one or two days. I think they will cut, and by 5 percent," the lifter said.

The same lifter had said a week ago that he was not worried about a cut as the company had large crude inventories, and saw little impact even if Saudi came forth with quick cuts.

"If we need the crude, we can arrange for a 5 percent tolerance," he said.

Refiners have little flexibility to increase or decrease the volumes they lift under term contracts but could use the 5 percent tolerance on ships to get more crude.

Abu Dhabi's cuts last week have already given a lift to its crudes on the spot market.

Flasghip light sour, middle distillate-rich Murban crude, which was trading at discounts of around 40 cents to its official selling prices (OSPs) before the cuts were announced- and plunged to record-deep discounts of $3.00 a barrel in September-- was sold at close to parity to its OSP late last week after refiners stepped in to secure supplies.