The production capacity of Kuwait's northern oil fields will soon rise to 820,000 barrels per day (bpd), state news agency Kuna quoted a senior oil industry executive as saying on Tuesday.

Sami al-Rushaid, chairman of the state explorer Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), said current output from an early production facility will add 120,000 barrels per day once it reaches full capacity.

The agency did not give a more specific time frame for the increase. Kuwait, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, plans to boost output capacity to 4 million bpd by 2020 from the current 3.3 million bpd.

Rushaid said KOC had relied chiefly on its own capabilities to raise crude production from its northern oilfields, with little help from international oil companies (IOC).

He said that Project Kuwait, a multibillion-dollar plan to develop northern fields would take a new form with the help of IOCs. A possible new form is still under discussion.

Parliament has opposed the project for years, fearing foreign companies will get a share of the oil wealth.

Rushaid said last month that new models were being considered for the project including enhanced technical service agreements with IOCs.-Reuters