ABU DHABI ø Kuwait plans to increase daily crude oil production capacity to 10 million barrels per day.

Kuwaiti Energy Minister Ahmed Al Fahd Al Sabah said the sheikdom would quadruple its oil output over the next 20 years. Ahmed said the effort would be launched in cooperation with Western oil majors, Middle East Newsline reported.

"We are planning to increase output capacity from 2.5 million barrels per day now to five million barrels per day after 10 years and to 10 million barrels per day after 20 years," the minister told parliament on June 21.

The state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp has drafted plans for a $7 billion project to develop four oilfields near the Iraqi border. Ahmed said the government would submit details of Project Kuwait ø to double the oil production near the Iraqi border to 900,000 barrels per day ø by mid-July.

"Throughout our discussions, I have found that there is consensus that Kuwait needs the assistance of foreign companies to develop its northern oilfields," Ahmed said.