Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG (OMV.VI) expects the average oil price to move within a band of $60 to $80 in the coming years, its chief executive said Friday.
"I also think that would be a sensible price to ensure that the necessary investments are viable," Chief Executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said, speaking at and investor fair in Vienna.
Ruttenstorfer said the company will increasingly diversify its energy mix in the years ahead, through more focus on renewable energies, but also through major gas projects.
The most important priority, the Nabucco gas pipeline project, which will transport gas from the Caspian region through southeastern Europe to Austria from 2014, is heading into a decisive round with talks with potential lenders in the start-up phase.
Still, Ruttenstorfer Friday said the timetable may slide, saying he "hopes an investment decision can be made next year." According to the consortium behind the pipeline, which includes five other European energy companies, the final investment decision is scheduled for 2010.
Ruttenstorfer said the Nabucco project isn't threatened by Russia's decision to press ahead with the competing Russian Southstream pipeline project.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently said Russia will speed up work on Southstream, which means it could be production-ready ahead of Nabucco.
"There will be a huge need for new gas supply lines and sources in the years ahead. Nabucco is our first priority, but we also support Southstream," OMV's Ruttenstorfer said.