BP CEO Believes Shale Revolution Will Pinch Much of the World Albeit Positively

Shale gas revolution will be "very painful for many parts of the world”, with the US as potential giant.

British Petroleum (BP) Plc. (NYSE:BP) CEO, Bob Dudley, believes that the ongoing shale gas revolution in the US will serve to be “very painful” for virtually every oil producer around the world, with the US dubbed as the potential giant that can change the fortunes of crude oil producing and oil importing countries.

The shale industry is currently dominated by the US, which has boomed in recent years, despite the current slowdown, partly because of cheap financing and little government support, which pushed down global oil prices as a result to record lows on the backdrop of increased production.

At this rate, it is possible for the US to sweep past Saudi Arabia as the largest single producer, toying with the demand and the supply of oil. According to Mr. Dudley, he foresees oil prices to remain “lower for longer”, the latest amongst a string of analysts who do not foresee the possibility of $100 plus barrels of oil in the near future – even the OPEC countries know that too. Still, this has not stopped the OPEC in committing not to go for a production cut in any case ahead of a key meeting in Friday.

On the oil and gas industry as a whole, Mr. Dudley believes that there is going to be further consolidation in the oil and gas industry, once executives acknowledge that low oil prices are here to stay. He has ruled out London based oil and gas major as either a predator or a prey, when asked if BP is up for sale or if it prefers to become the predator.

Mr. Dudley also mentioned that winners of the low oil prices are the emerging economies of India, China, Southeast Asia, and much of Europe, most of them are fuel importers. Even the US is also a big winner in this regard, since most of the coastal states are usually net importers than exporters because the US has banned any export of fuel oil in the market.

On the subject of Russia, Mr. Dudley said that the company intends to maintain its presence there, despite the ongoing tensions with the west, and has no plans to sell the 20% stake on the Rosneft, which is majorly owned by the Russian state, led by CEO, Igor Sechin, who has close ties to Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.

BP stock price ended the day at $41.51, a gain of more than 1.40% from the previous day.