The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) doesn’t expect oil prices to return to the $100 per barrel mark for at least the next decade, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The group has written a report that, under its most optimistic scenario, sees oil trading at around $76 a barrel by 2025. An official told the WSJ that “$100 is not in any of our scenarios.”
{mosads}OPEC’s report recommends the return of the country-by-country production limits that the group abandoned in 2011 as a way to stabilize oil prices.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was trading at around $64 a barrel on Monday. Brent’s price was above $110 a barrel in June and was last at $100 in October. The price collapsed over the winter, bottoming out at less than $50 a barrel in January before recovering since then.
OPEC has struggled to adopt to changes in the oil market since American oil and gas production ballooned. Last year, the cartel decided against cutting its production in order to drive up prices.
Oil prices are especially important for OPEC nations, many of which rely heavily on oil revenue to fund government spending.