HOUSTON — Saudi Arabia’s plans to expand oil and refining capacity are on track, though economic turmoil and the promotion of alternative energies have clouded the oil demand outlook, the head of Saudi Aramco said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia plans to expand oil production capacity to 12 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2009, Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Abdallah S. Jum’ah told the CERA week energy conference yesterday.

Jum’ah added that Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC exporter, plans to spend $90 billion over the next five years in upstream and downstream projects globally, including $1 billion to expand production of low sulfur fuels.

However, the fallout from the US subprime crisis and volatility in the value of the US dollar have created uncertainty in the global oil market, he said.

Uncertainty over alternative fuels has “negative implications” for fossil fuel development, Jum’ah added.