ABU DHABI, January 13. /TASS/. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cannot protect the world oil prices which have crashed to a six-year low, United Arab Emirates oil minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said on Tuesday.

"[OPEC] cannot continue protecting a certain price," the minister said at the Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi.

The minister said there has been oversupply, which came primarily from shale oil, and that needed to “be corrected.” Shale oil production has recently been growing in the United States.

He said the sharp oil price growth is unlikely as the stabilization of the market will demand certain time.

“We believe things will not stay for long at these oil prices,” he added.

The Brent crude for February delivery fell to $45.39 per barrel, the lowest since March 2009, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange on Tuesday.