Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol speaks during a question and answer session at the Oil & Money conference in London October 1, 2013. The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, expects the price of crude oil to stay at around $45 a barrel “for a long time”, he said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday. When asked by Austrian newspaper Kurier whether prices would ever exceed $100 a barrel again, Birol said: “I can only say that the oil price will remain low for some quarters.” “Forty five dollars a barrel will remain the price for a long time,” he was quoted as saying. Benchmark Brent crude futures were unchanged at $47.34 a barrel at 0115 EDT, while WTI crude futures were down 2 cents at $44.41 per barrel. “Cheap oil is causing oil companies big problems,” Birol said. “This year, […]