BP CEO: Oil prices won’t spike much higher

Oil prices have been on a tear since June, gaining about 33%. BP boss Bob Dudley says that may be all for now.

“I don’t expect there to be a real spike in the markets barring some geopolitical event,” Dudley told CNNMoney Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios on Monday. “I’ve always said we’re in the $ 50-$ 60 range until the end of the decade.”
U.S. crude futures are currently trading at around $ 56 a barrel, and Brent crude is trading even higher at $ 63.

Oil crashed in late 2014 and 2015 before hitting a low of around $ 26 in February 2016. It has since recovered thanks to supply curbs agreed by OPEC members and some other major producers, such as Russia, a year ago.

In May, the group extended the deal to the end of March 2018.

“OPEC has done something unprecedented by not only working with their own countries, but 24 countries,” said the BP (BP) CEO. “It does seem there is cohesion around this… a healthy price above $ 50 is good for the world.”

A recovery in the global economy has also helped.

“There’s higher demand than we projected for oil and gasoline globally,” Dudley said at an oil conference in Abu Dhabi. “Economic growth around the world is also strong.”

Related: India, not China, will lead future demand for energy

Rising tensions in the Middle East have probably added about $ 5 a barrel to the price of oil, he said.

Rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting several proxy wars including in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile earlier this month aimed at Riyadh’s international airport. The missile was intercepted but Saudi Arabia described the attack as an “act of war” by Iran and said it would take “appropriate measures.”