Venezuela's state-run petroleum firm PDVSA plans to increase its output to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the next five years, local press said Thursday.

The oil output will rise from the current 3.3 million bpd to up to 5 million bpd in the framework of the PDVSA 2005-2010 investment plan, local newspaper El Universal said.

According to the plan, PDVSA will create three new refineries and expand two existing ones, the El Palito refinery and the Jose refinery in central and northeastern Venezuela respectively.

One of the newly created refineries will be in Cabruta, Guarico state, and will have a refining capacity of 400,000 bpd, the newspaper said.

Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter. Oil is the main economic resource in Venezuela, generating nearly half of the state's revenue.

Source: Xinhua