Oil prices 'low for up to 3 years' - BP boss

BP is planning for low oil prices for years to come

The boss of oil giant BP Bob Dudley has said that oil prices could remain low for up to three years.

He added that could send UK petrol prices below £1 per litre.

He told BBC Business editor Kamal Ahmed in Davos BP was planning for low oil prices for years to come.

That is expected to lead to job losses and falling investment in the North Sea oil industry and elsewhere, curbing supply and eventually forcing the price back up.

Italian oil group Eni has said the next spike could be around $200 a barrel.

Eni's chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, said the oil industry would cut capital spending by 10-13% this year because of slumping prices.

He said that would create longer-term shortages and sharp price rises in four to five years' time, if the Opec cartel fails to cut supplies.

Mr Descalzi was speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

CEOs Eagerly Await Boost From Oil Price Drop at Davos

For Some Companies Lower Oil Prices Mean Savings and a Revenue Boost

In Davos - Low oil prices have roiled oil exploration and production companies, but chief executives from a wide swath of the global economy, gathered here for the annual World Economic Forum are looking forward to a boost from the drop.

Oil prices are down more than 50% since June, amid a supply glut partly due to booming American shale-oil production. In November, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries chose to maintain its output levels, saying it wouldn’t risk market share as non-OPEC producers, from the U.S. to Russia, continue to pump flat out.