CERAWeek

BP CEO Bob Dudley says oil prices will range between $50-$65 'fairway'

Key Points
  • BP CEO Bob Dudley correctly called the 'lower for longer' oil prices of recent years.
  • Now the BP CEO says oil prices have settled into a 'fairway' for a few years.
BP CEO on energy demands of the future
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BP CEO on energy demands of the future

BP group chief executive officer Robert Dudley is making predictions about the price of oil again.

The BP CEO famously said oil prices would stay lower for longer several years ago, and now says oil prices are "on a fairway."

"It feels like we're in a $50 to $65 world for a couple of years," Dudley said, though added that this outlook does not exclude the chance of some spikes.

He said the industry has learned from the downturn in prices and is now more efficient in managing costs, and is gaining efficiencies from using technology and data

"We just recovered from one of the most protracted downturns we ever encountered," Dudley said.

Dudley also provided a long-term forecast. Some experts are predicting electric vehicles and other technologies will bite into oil demand in the decades ahead. In its annual outlook BP said peak oil demand will be reached sometime in the late 2030s, but Dudley said he expects oil demand to be still over 100 million barrels a day in 2040.

OPEC's top executive said at CERAWeek on Tuesday that the 100-million barrel per day market is fast approaching.

More from CERAWeek:

OPEC's Secretary General: Lack of investment could result in global energy crisis

Fed official says market underestimating chance of oil price spike

IEA: US to dominate oil output in next 5 years

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