"Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional barrels of crude above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day, which we plan to produce during the month of July, if demand for such quantities materialises and our customers tell us they are needed," Bloomberg quoted al-Naimi as saying yesterday at the Jeddah Energy Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He added Saudi Arabia's capacity will be 12.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2009 and may rise to 15 million after that if necessary.

The International Energy Agency estimates that world oil use this year will climb 800,000 barrels a day, or 1%, as demand climbs in emerging markets.

However, while Kuwait joined Saudi Arabia in saying it was ready to raise output if needed, other Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries members including Libya, Algeria, Iran, Venezuela and Qatar are opposed to higher production, saying refiners aren't asking for more crude.

OPEC president Chakib Khelil pinned the blame for high oil prices on speculative investors, the subprime credit crisis and geopolitics, dismissing arguments that supply shortages were driving up prices.

Major producers, consumers and top oil company executives had gathered in Saudi Arabia's commercial capital to try to reverse what some see as the world's third oil shock.

The final statement of the summit called for more investment in oil production and greater financial market transparency.

It added that current record-high oil prices and oil price volatility was harming the world economy.

"Current prices and their volatility are detrimental to the global economy, and in particular the economies of least developed countries," the statement said.