Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant says production reached record level last year as global demand surged and international sanctions sharply trimmed output from rival Iran.

The oil production rose to 3.479 billion barrels in 2012, compared with 3.310 billion barrels in 2011, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Saudi Aramco's exports reached 2.521billion barrels last year, up from 2.421 billon barrels in 2011,  the report added.

A statement on the Aramco website says it was the highest production in history.

Gulf states have stepped up crude production to compensate for Iranian exports, which have dropped as major customers such as India and China face pressures from the West to trim their purchases from Tehran.-TradeArabia News Service