Iraq, Iran and Libya are wildcards for oil: Expert

Iraq, Iran and Libya are wildcards for oil: Expert

Despite the meltdown in the oil market, prices are more likely to rise than to fall further because of geopolitical instability, an industry consultant told CNBC on Thursday.

"Iraq, Iran, [and] Libya, history tells us that those don't get solved very quickly or very easily. I don't see downward pressure from them coming back on online. I probably see more upward pressure from disruptions going on in that area," Carl Larry, director of oil and gas business development at Frost & Sullivan, said on " Squawk Box ".

Larry's comments were in contrast to what Exxon Mobil (XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson told CNBC in a separate interview that aired Thursday.

Tillerson said more oil supply could come to the already bloated crude market if things were to calm down in hot spots like Libya or Iraq.

Read More Expect more volatility in oil: Exxon CEO

As for U.S. production, Larry predicted, "Oil production in America [will] stay where it's at. We won't see that exponential growth that we've seen over the past few years."

But Tillerson said the crude market has been surprised by how robust American production has been year after year. "There's another million-plus barrels coming out of North America."

Read More 'Record' number of bets against oil. Buy it: CNBC Pro




More From CNBC