Oil production in Saudi Arabia , the world's largest exporter of crude, rose to 9.657 million barrels a day in May, compared with 9.31 million barrels a day a month earlier, while exports edged 4.6% higher during the same period, official data showed Wednesday.

The kingdom exported 7.789 million barrels a day of crude oil and condensate in May, up from 7.444 million barrels a day in April, according to figures posted on the Joint Organization Data Initiative, or JODI, website.

JODI is supervised by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum and shows data supplied directly by governments dating back to 2002.

Saudi Arabia used 547,000 barrels a day in power stations and water-desalination plants in May, down from the 559,000 barrels a day during the corresponding period in 2012 but up from the 378,000 barrels a day consumed a month earlier.

The kingdom's largest unlisted lender, National Commercial Bank, said in a note that the state's average crude production may fall by 400,000 barrels a day in 2013 as it curbs supply to meet OPEC's output target. It's expected to produce around 9.5 million barrels a day on average this year, compared with 9.92 million barrels a day in 2012, the Jeddah-based bank said.

In May OPEC kept its oil production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day in a widely expected move that members described as an easy decision. But concerns about the growing threat from shale oil overshadowed the group's otherwise smooth meeting.

U.S. oil production has risen to a 21-year high on the back of oil unearthed from shale rock formations beneath the plains of Texas and North Dakota .

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