Opec still hoping for $80 oil

04 June 2015

Officials meeting in Vienna hope that prices will rise on the back of increased demand

  • Cartel members meet on Friday
  • Production levels not expected to rise.

Officials meeting in Vienna from oil cartel Opec have said that $80 a barrel is the right price for crude and expressed hopes that prices would rise in the second half of 2015 and into 2016.

Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri

Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri

Opec members meet on 4 June to discuss production, but they are not expected to change from current levels. This has not stopped officials hoping for a price rise, however.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Opec conference, Bob Dudley, CEO of the UK’s BP, said lower oil prices were the norm and were something the industry had to get used to.  

“We are out of balance and we can see some softness in price,” he said. “…we need to operate at $60-$65 a barrel.”  

ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, echoed Dudley’s sentiments by stating that no one could accurately predict the future oil price and that his company were instead concentrating on the things it could control, such as costs and operating margins.

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