Some of OPEC's key players defended their strategy of keeping the taps wide open, saying Tuesday that they are bracing for low oil prices to continue-perhaps until the end of the decade, by one estimate.
At an oil conference here, Kuwait's acting oil minister, Anas al-Saleh, told reporters that OPEC's "strategy is working as planned, and we believe it is so far working well." He brushed off calls by other OPEC members for an emergency meeting of the cartel to consider changing tack amid oil prices that have fallen to depths not seen in more than a decade.
Amid the sharply falling prices, divisions inside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have become more public. A number of cash strapped members highly dependent on oil revenue-such as Nigeria and Venezuela-have forcefully pushed for the group to take more action. Nigeria issued its clearest call last week for an emergency meeting of the cartel.
Kuwaiti officials Tuesday said they were now girding for low oil prices for some time to come. Mr. Saleh, who is also the country's finance minister, said Gulf producers will continue investing in expanding its production capacity, regardless of the price. He said Kuwait will now base its fiscal budget on a price of oil around $25 a barrel, down from $45 a barrel approved in July.
Low oil prices are the "new reality," said Ali Rashid Al-Jarwan, chief executive of Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Co., an oil production and service firm that is majority owned by state-controlled Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
The day before, the chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, said that his country could weather the low prices for "a long, long time."
In late morning trading in London, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up modestly at $30.83 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange. The contract fell as low as $29.27 in earlier trading.
In one of the most bearish forecasts coming out of an OPEC official so far, Kuwait's top OPEC representative Nawal al- Fuzaia said she expects crude prices to remain low this year and trade no higher than between $40 and $60 per barrel through 2020.
"Prices will be higher than the current levels between 2020 until 2030," Ms. Fuzaia told reporters here. "But from now until 2020 the situation will be difficult," she said.
OPEC said in its closely watched annual World Oil Outlook, published in December, that it expects the price of its basket of crudes to rise to $70 a barrel in 2020 and $95 a barrel in 2040. OPEC's basket typically trades modestly lower than international benchmark prices.
"OPEC is willing to cooperate with producers outside the group if they show that they are serious about cooperating with OPEC," Ms. Fuzaia said. "Non-OPEC producers keep on making statements that they are willing to cooperate but the reality is different."
"Look at the Russian production, how it is increasing from last year," she said. "Look at the United States, they are releasing crude oil exports, while the prices are declining. And look at the others, like Latin America. All are looking to increase their production. So OPEC is looking for the cooperation."
The top executive at Saudi Arabia's state-oil giant, however, said Tuesday he expects oil prices to pick up by the end of this year, as high-cost production exits the market amid today's low prices.
"Our prediction is that we'll see some adjustment, but it will happen toward the end of this year," Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco, told a business conference in Riyadh.
Mr. Nasser didn't specify which level he thought prices would reach by the end of this year, but said they won't be " what we have seen in 2014 and 2015, which was $100-but it will be adjusted. It definitely will be better than what we are seeing today."