Kuwait aims to boost capacity to 3 million bpd

By Rania El Gamal and Simon Webb

KUWAIT (Reuters) - OPEC-member Kuwait is pumping at around 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and aims to boost capacity to 3 million bpd in the first half of 2009, a top oil official said on Monday.

The world's seventh-largest oil producer is sticking to the production target of 2.53 million bpd set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and has about 200,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd of spare capacity, said Saad al-Shuwaib, the chief executive of state oil firm Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC).

"We are producing around 2.5 million bpd, at the quota," he told Reuters in an interview. "We have a little spare capacity in case it's needed...we hope by the first half of 2009 to reach 3 million bpd."

Kuwait boosted output to 2.8 million bpd in July to ease the market and meet demand, Shuwaib said.

Kuwait's informal OPEC output target is 2.53 million bpd.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia pledged to boost its output to the fastest rate in 27 years in July, well above its OPEC target, to help meet rising demand and tame runaway oil prices.

Kuwait is on course to meet its long-term capacity target of 4 million bpd in 2020 despite political hurdles at home, spiralling costs for oil projects and a tight market for contractors, Shuwaib said.

"This target is achievable," he said. "We're not really worried that we will not reach this number."