Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said on Sunday that the country's daily oil production has reached 2.5 million barrels, returning to the level prior to the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

Iraq also expects daily oil production to reach 2.6-2.7 million barrels by the end of the year, to 4.3 million barrels by 2010, which would be a new all-time record for Iraq, Hussein Shahristani said in an interview with CNN television.

Oil production was about 2.5 million barrels a day when the United States toppled the Saddam Hussein regime three years ago. It then declined to virtually nothing and has been slow to rebuild because of insurgent attacks and other problems.

"Our ultimate aim is to reach more than six million barrels a day, hopefully by 2012. Iraq holds one of the largest reserves of oil and gas in the world, and we are determined to prove it has the largest world reserve," he added.

The oil minister said that by 2015, Iraq could rival Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer.

Source: Xinhua