AsiaNews.it: Oil to reach US$ 250 a barrel very soon, says Russia's Gazprom chief

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Oil to reach US$ 250 a barrel very soon, says Russia's Gazprom chief

With the price of oil rising, at its highest yesterday at US$ 139.89 a barrel, the head of Russian energy giant Gazprom expects crude to climb to US$ 250 a barrel in the "foreseeable future.” According to Alexei Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas company, the day when this happens is not far off. In the meantime his forecast produced a whirlwind of speculation. Jeff Spittel, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder, said prices might reach that level only after a war or attack on major oil installations. Yet other experts who disagree with Miller still agree that rising crude prices cannot be stopped. “It would be a disaster for all the oil-importing countries, all the democracies and China,” says James Woolsey, the vice-president of consultant Booz Allen & Hamilton.Some investors are already betting on Mr Miller's forecast. However at US$ 250 a barrel, "there would be a massive shutdown of companies", says Carlos Mattei, procurement vice-president for glassmaker Vitro SAB. And big companies would be nationalised.