Yevgeny Khartukov, the head of the Moscow-based International Petroleum Institute, is currently taking part in a conference on national oil companies and governments.
"The oil market is overheating due to the situation in Iraq, the hurricane [in the U.S.], and a number of other factors..." Khartukov said. "The oil price has therefore gone up. However, the main reason for the high oil price is the weak dollar. While the dollar remains low, oil prices will remain high. The market is subject to fluctuations, and the higher prices rise, the lower they will then fall..."
"Seventy dollars per barrel is too high a price, and of course it will not remain this high for long, particularly in view of the fact that OPEC has decided to increase oil extraction," he said.
Both high and low prices are bad for the global economy - it is better for them to be stable and predictable, the expert said.
The annual forum in The Hague is attended by representatives from oil and gas companies, firms linked to the sector, research organizations, and governments.
