Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez talks during a cabinet meeting at Miraflores Palace in Caracas July 27, 2011. Convalescing Chavez laughed off talk of succession on Wednesday and said his enemies were engaging in speculation that his cancer diagnosis was made up to boost his popularity. "They say I'm putting on a show; it's they who are putting on a macabre show,'' said Chavez in another TV appearance that has marked a growing public presence since two trips to Cuba for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then chemotherapy. [Photo/Agencies]

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that the state oil company will increase its crude output by 30,000 barrels a day in honor of his 57th birthday.

Chavez says workers of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA plan the jump in output in the country's oil-rich eastern Orinoco River basin. He says the increase is in honor of his birthday on Thursday.

The South American country is a major oil exporter and OPEC member. The government says it is currently producing about 3 million barrels of oil per day.

Chavez told state television on Wednesday that Venezuela aims to boost that to about 4 million barrels of oil a day within a few years.