Oooguruk Island, the manmade island built by Pioneer Natural Resources, sits off of the coast of Alaska's North Slope, Wednesday, September 26. The company built the six-acre island so it could drill for oil on the Arctic Ocean. Crude remains a highly sought commodity despite record prices. - AP

OPEC's secretary general said Tuesday there are plans to boost oil production target capacity by five million barrels a day by 2012.

Abdalla Salem el-Badri in separate comments in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a Rome energy forum said that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are planning to spend US$160 billion (some euro100 billion) over the next four years to boost production capacity.

Oil has been under pressure in recent months, spiking prices to a new high of $119 per barrel in trading Tuesday before falling back.

The OPEC official also told reporters that issues of supply and demand were being discussed at the forum but that he did not expect any agreement on whether prices are too high or too low.

Yesterday was the final day of the three-day forum.

Blame

El-Badri blamed a weak dollar and speculators for soaring prices of petroleum, which are taking a heavy toll on economies worldwide.

In the interview, el-Badri said members were investing to increase both production and refining capacity.

"Right now, we have 120 projects worth $160 billion just to increase capacity by five million to 2012," he said, referring to production.

El-Badri also said in the interview that OPEC countries plan to invest about $50 billion (euro31.45 billion) to boost refining capacity by about three million barrels a day.

Oil prices steadied Tuesday in Asia near the previous session's record close above US$117 a barrel, supported by concerns about instability in crude supplies from some producers.