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Record oil, gas price lows threaten existence of several companies: OMV CEO

Xinhua, January 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The present slump in oil and gas prices to historical lows threatens the existence of some companies in the industry, the CEO of Austrian giant OMV, Rainer Seele, said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the European Gas Conference in Vienna, Seele said only those companies who are "constantly working on their profitability, keeping their costs under control, and acting flexibly will survive," Austria Press Agency reported.

He said the industry as a whole has reduced its investments by around 400 billion U.S. dollars, and will over time reach a new equilibrium between supply and demand.

"The market is consistent and sometimes brutal," he added, noting that neither political efforts to regulate the market or tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have affected prices significantly.

Seele said despite concentrated global efforts to cut greenhouse emissions in light of climate change, he also does not expect oil, gas, and coal use to drop significantly, believing that by 2050 they will still have a "substantial role in the energy mix." Enditem