250 BUCK OIL NDM NOT FEASIBLE IMOOPEC has no influence on oil prices, according to Gazprom chief
By Emma Thelwell
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 28/06/2008
Russia's biggest energy company has warned that oil prices will end at a 'radically' new level and that OPEC has little influence over the price of crude.
Alexey Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, said that the global economy is facing "a great surge in oil and gas prices" that will "end with prices at a radically new level."
|
 |
|
His comments to the Financial Times came as oil surged to a new high of $141.98, leaving prices more than double where they were 12 months ago and casting a shadow over the prospects for the global economy this year and next.
Mr Miller also dismissed hopes that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can do much to bring prices down. "Not a single decision has been passed of late that would really influence the global oil market," he said.
Gordon Brown and President George W Bush have both lobbied OPEC, and in particular its biggest producer Saudi Arabia, to ramp up production.
Saudi's decision to increase production has done little to bring oil lower as fears for global supply and the weaker dollar help to drive prices higher.
Oil prices: A complete Q&A
Oil rise hits global markets
Mr Miller expects increasing competition for the world's gas and other energy resources to drive oil to $250 a barrel next year.