ABU DHABI ø Saudi Arabia has reported an increase in its crude oil reserves.

The state-owned Saudi Aramco reported that the kingdom's proven crude oil reserves stood at 259.4 billion barrels at the end of 2003. This marked an increase of nearly 93 billion barrels over the figure in 1983. Over the last 20 years, Riyad has pumped 46.9 billion barrels of oil.

In an address to the International Energy Agency, Aramco's Amin Nasser said Saudi Arabia could pump as much as 15 million barrels per day for the next 50 years. Nasser said Riyad could immediately produce around 10 million barrels per day for one year without having to use its rigs to boost capacity.

"We have the capacity to reach 15 million barrels per day by carrying out expansion of some fields and we can produce that amount for 50 consecutive years," Nasser said.

"Assuming that we do not reinforce our available oil deposits through exploration and discoveries, Saudi Arabia will still be able to produce at least 15 million barrels per day for 15 years, depending on its proven reserves without having to increase those reserves in place."