"If oil prices move markedly lower, the natural gas industry will suffer and investment in exploration and production of natural gas will slow," the OPEC boss said during his visit to Australia last week.
The OPEC boss said the cartel's forecasts indicated that world demand for crude oil would grow from about 76 million barrels a day to about 106 mmbopd in 2020. However, he added that the production rate would not be able to match demand unless oil prices remained stable and were allowed to increase over time.
A European Union estimate of a sustained price around $U30 bbl would be acceptable to the 11-member oil cartel, the OPEC boss said.
