BP boss sees oil price between $60-90

The boss of British energy giant BP forecast Wednesday that world oil prices would trade between $60-$90 per barrel in the coming years. "I think there's a rational argument, for where we are today an oil price somewhere between $60-$90 is the right sort of range," CEO Tony Hayward said. He argued that oil producing nations needed a price above $60 to balance their books, as consumers appeared comfortable with prices beneath $90. "In the OPEC world, most OPEC countries need prices north of $60 or $70 per barrel to be able to invest in today's capacity, to invest in their social gov't. programmes & to invest in tomorrow's capacity. "If that price isn't realised, then the first thing that gets cut is tomorrow's capacity." "If you got to the non-OPEC world, then marginal supply -- which is the CN tar sands & ultra-deep water of Angola and Brazil -- all of that needs north of $60-$70 to be commercially viable because of the technology challenge & the cost of the development." World oil prices struck record peaks above $147 a barrel in July 2008, but have since slumped on weak energy demand rising from the spreading economic downturn. He said: "If you look at the consumer side, there seemed to be very little change in consumer behavior til the price went north of $100 a barrel. Consumers seem comfortable to pay for oil up to $90." The 12-nation OPEC cut its output target 3x late last year to stabilise prices that tumbled from record highs in July to $32.40 in Dec. The cartel pumps about 40% of world oil supplies. Meanwhile, BP said global oil consumption fell 0.6% in 2008, the first annual decline since 1993 & the largest drop since 1982, as the economic downturn dented demand. However, BP added in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy worldwide oil production rose by 0.4% last year.