Birol ... oil prices will remain low for a long time.
IEA chief expects $45 oil 'for a long time'
VIENNA, September 29, 2015
The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, expects the price of crude oil to stay at around $45 a barrel "for a long time", he said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.
When asked by Austrian newspaper Kurier whether prices would ever exceed $100 a barrel again, Birol said: "I can only say that the oil price will remain low for some quarters."
"Forty five dollars a barrel will remain the price for a long time," he was quoted as saying.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were unchanged at $47.34 a barrel at 0615 GMT, while WTI crude futures were down 2 cents at $44.41 per barrel.
"Cheap oil is causing oil companies big problems," Birol said. "This year, they have reduced their investments by a fifth. Never in the history of these companies has there been an annual reduction as strong as this year." - Reuters