Saudi 12.5mbpd plan on target

Top world exporter Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead on its ambitious oil expansion scheme and stepping up exploration to meet future demand, the head of state Saudi Aramco said.

The kingdom, Opec’s leading producer, has plans in train to boost production capacity from 11 million barrels per day (bpd) to 12.5 million bpd by 2009. It has been pumping about 9.5 million bpd of crude for months running.