Saudi Arabia has planned to increase its production of crude oil to 12.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2009, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Wednesday.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, who is currently at an OPEC ministerial meeting in Vienna, revealed the plan in an interview with KUNA.

Al-Nuaimi told KUNA that his country would invest 18 billion U. S. dollars to increase crude oil production.

Saudi Arabia has invested 70 billion dollars over the past five years in the oil industry, he added.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, now produces around 9.5 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Meanwhile, al-Nuaimi predicted that petroleum will remain the leading global source of energy, accounting for 37 percent of the total by 2025.

To maintain market balance, extra production capacity is required to accommodate any unexpected disruption in supply, he said.

Source: Xinhua