Kuwait Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim Monday said the OPEC member will raise its output capacity by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the middle of next year.

Olaim said in statements cited by the official KUNA news agency that the emirate will spend $55 billion over the next five years on oil development projects.

He also said Kuwait is capable now of increasing its output, but wondered if the market needs it.

Kuwait, OPEC's fourth largest producer, is currently pumping about 2.58 million bpd and has a production capacity of around 2.7 million bpd.