Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi said Monday (January 24th) that OPEC may increase its output to meet demand this year, wire services reported.

"Based on global economic growth, global oil demand is expected to rise from 1.5 million barrels to 1.8 million barrels," said al-Naimi.

OPEC will likely "boost their supplies to the global market to meet the rising global demand," the minister said at the Annual Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh.

The minister did not mention whether production would rise in the immediate future, but said "the policy of OPEC is to meet any increased demand to achieve a balance between supply and demand".

Naimi said prices should be similar to last year's price of $80 per barrel.