Oil could remain low for over a year – BP economist

World oil prices are likely to remain low for another 12-18 months if the global economic crisis continues to cut demand for oil, the group chief economist at BP said on Tuesday.

‘We should expect oil price volatility and low oil prices for 12-18 months until economic recovery helps prices to rise,’ said BP’s Christof Ruhl at the Oil & Money conference in London.

However, Ruhl said he did not see prices falling back to where they were five or six years ago because of strong demand in emerging markets.

Reuters