Saudi Aramco plans to use a record number of rigs this year, more than 170, to search for unconventional gas while drilling for oil needed to maintain the world's biggest spare capacity cushion, industry sources in Saudi Arabia said.

The world's biggest oil producer is to deploy an additional 30 rigs this year, taking its total to over 170, the sources said, to search for gas to meet rapidly rising demand at home while maintaining its oil production capacity at 12.5 million barrels per day (bpd) as flows from some older fields decline.

"The rigs will be for gas exploration and development and oil development," an industry source in Saudi Arabia said.

Saudi oil officials say they do not see any need to raise the country's oil production capacity beyond the current 12.5 million bpd as they have never come close to testing those levels and see oil production rising elsewhere.

The additional rigs would be deployed mostly in northwestern parts of the country.-Reuters