Baku, Azerbaijan, August 30
By Elena Kosolapova – Trend:
The target oil price for OPEC is rather below $100 a barrel, James Smith, professor at the US Southern Methodist University, said.
He made the remarks at the First International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) Eurasian Conference being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 30.
Smith added that OPEC will protect the low oil price.
The professor said that the producers of shale oil and oil tar sands benefited from the oil price of $100 because a shale revolution occurred due to a high oil price. Smith added that the revolution would not have happened at the price of $40-50 per barrel.
He believes that OPEC countries have different interests and they have to look for a compromise.
Smith said that Saudi Arabia was making a compromise until 2014, but now other OPEC member-states have to do that.
The expert added that the largest oil producer in OPEC - Saudi Arabia, where the structure of deposits differs from that in other countries, is not interested in oil price of $100 a barrel.
The professor stressed that since 2000 Saudi Arabia had been increasing production during the periods of oil price decline.
Smith said that despite the diffused opinion that OPEC is going through a difficult period and becomes obsolete, the organization has not changed over the past 25 years and it faces the same problems and challenges as in early 1990s.
The expert stressed that OPEC's mission is to stabilize the market and the price protection at any level secures the market.
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