PDVSA expects 3.4m bpd output

Caracas: Venezuela expects to increase oil production by about 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 3.4 million bpd by the end of 2006, PDVSA Vice-President for Exploration and Production Luis Vierma said on Wednesday.

"We should be closing the year with a production ... of 3.4 million barrels per day," Vierma told reporters. "The average production for this month has been almost 3.3 million barrels per day."

The US Department of Energy and Wall Street analysts say Venezuela's total oil production is only around 2.6 million bpd.

Opec's most recently Monthly Market Report shows Venezuelan production at about 2.6 million barrels per day in March, some 400,000 barrels per day less than Opec reported in October of 2002.

Dissident PDVSA managers in December 2002 led a massive walkout that nearly shuttered the industry in a failed effort to oust leftist President Hugo Chavez.

The government fired some 20,000 employees and regained control of the industry, but analysts say the mass firings led to output losses.

PDVSA leaders say the company restored full production capacity, and has promised to boost production to 5 million barrels per day by 2012.