The state-owned Kuwait oil company aims to increase natural gas production to meet local demand, the company's acting chief executive officer Khaled Nayef Al Otaibi said on Sunday.

"With the world recovering from the disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic, demand for oil and gas returned to its pre-pandemic levels in 2019. In this high prices environment, the company is determined to increase its natural gas production in line with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's strategy to meet the domestic demand for energy", he added during his speech at an energy conference in Kuwait.

(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy, Writing by Moataz Mohamed Editing by Frances Kerry)