CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's state oil company says it hopes to increase crude production by nearly 8 percent this year.
Petroleos de Venezuela SA says it hopes to produce more than 3.4 million barrels per day.
State oil company vice president Luis Vierma says the company is increasing its investments this year to reach that goal.
Vierma says that Venezuela is producing about 3.2 million barrels per day. More conservative estimates from the Paris-based International Energy Agency put the country's production at around 2.6 million barrels a day.
Vierma's comments were published in the Venezuelan newspaper Panorama on Wednesday.
Venezuela is the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States.
