Global oil demand and prices are unlikely to start recovering before 2010, said ConocoPhillips Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Mulva Thursday.

"I expect some modest stabilization in the economy, which will see demand increase a little as we go into 2010. As that happens, we'll also see some moderate increase of the (oil) price level to around $60 to $70 a barrel over time," Mulva said, speaking on the sidelines of an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries conference in Vienna.

"$40 to $50 (a barrel) is a high probability to the end of this year, but to the extent the economy stabilizes, potentially the price could go a little bit above $50," Mulva said.

-By Flemming E. Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +43 1 513 69 22 10; flemming.hansen@dowjones.com