London: Oil prices could be 50 per cent higher by 2030 unless West Asia producers invest billions of dollars in new production, a senior International Energy Agency official said.
Speaking to Britain's Financial Times newspaper, IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol said producers needed a 'sustained political will' to boost output.
"There is substantial risk of substantially high oil prices if current investment in the Middle East is not stepped up substantially," he said.
"It is not a problem of availability of reserves or capital. We need to be sure that the increase in production will be high enough and a sustained production capacity increase policy is in place," he added.
The IEA, the West's energy watchdog, said Saudi Arabia would need almost to double current output of 10 million barrels per day to meet the expectations of demand in 2030.
Birol said that the kingdom might create the long-term political will to produce just over half the extra barrels deemed necessary, the Financial Times quoted him as saying.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have set plans to add 4 million barrels per day of refining capacity in coming years, with top producer Saudi Arabia contributing a fifth of that.
OPEC is pumping at its highest level in 25 years, but prices have kept rising, hitting a record $70.85 a barrel at the end of August.
World oil demand growth has been powered by the world's biggest consumer, the US, and the rapidly expanding economies of China and India.
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