Vitol CEO: Crude Prices in a $40 to $60/bbl Band for Next Decade

Ian Taylor, CEO of Vitol says that crude prices can be expect to hover within a "band" of $40 to $60 per barrel for the next five to 10 years.

Ian Taylor, CEO of The Vitol Group (Vitol) says that crude prices can be expect to hover within a "band" of $40 to $60 per barrel for up to a decade, Bloomberg Business reports.

"I can see that band lasting for five to ten years. I think it's fundamentally different," said Taylor, crediting slowing Chinese economic growth and continued production from the U.S. shale industry as reasons for his prediction.

While Taylor says he is not certain if oil prices have bottomed out yet, he says that he expects prices to experience some recovery during the second half of 2016, reaching between $45 and $50 per barrel.

Taylor explains that the problem is that "there is so much more supply" while the world is beginning to consume crude more efficiently.

Iran's return to the global oil market, growth in emerging markets, as well as China's decreasing demand are all causes of that excess supply, says Taylor.

"You have to believe that there is a possibility that you will not necessarily go back above $100, you know, ever," said Taylor, commenting on the chances that the oil market will see triple-digit prices again.

Discussing the possibility of an agreement between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries like Russia to reduce production, Taylor says that "it's probably slightly against, 60-40 against, but it's a real possibility."

Last week, Ship & Bunker reported that Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuela's oil minister, received a luke warm response from separate meetings with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft, intended to convince the Russian oil producers to cut production.