BP CEO Bob Dudley ‘very comfortable’ with oil prices

Christophe Morin | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Robert ‘Bob’ Dudley, chief executive officer of BP Plc.

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said Monday that he was “very comfortable” with oil prices at their current levels.

“I think it got over $70, I think $72 a few weeks ago, that felt very high to me,” Dudley told CNBC in an interview at the Egypt Petroleum Show in Cairo. “We are planning on now to the end of the decade (a price) between $50 and $65 a barrel.”

He added: “I think we’re in a range where the shales will be a shock absorber on the upside and the downside. Very comfortable where oil prices are as we project out, not just this year but the years ahead.”

U.S. crude hit a more than three-year high last month, with Brent crude touching $69.08 a barrel.

On Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lifted its forecast for production outside of OPEC, driven by rising U.S. output.

Brent crude futures rose 0.4 to $63.19 a barrel at 4:47 p.m. London time (11:47 a.m. ET) Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 0.59 percent to $59.79 a barrel.