MARACAIBO, July 13 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President HugoChavez said on Sunday oil prices could hit $300 per barrel ifU.S. oil company Exxon Mobil again freezes Venezuelan assets ina dispute over a nationalized oil project.
Exxon (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) won court orders freezing $12 billion inassets held by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA after theOPEC nation took over a multi-billion dollar oil project,heightening tensions with the United States and helping toraise oil prices.
A London court later overturned Exxon's temporary assetfreeze, but Chavez said the company could seek further actionagainst Venezuela.
"If they freeze us there will be no more oil for the UnitedStates, and the price will go to $300," Chavez said during atelevised meeting with Caribbean and Central American leadersas part of an energy cooperation scheme called Petrocaribe.
Chavez also said oil prices were being influenced by a"speculative bubble", the collapse of which could send pricesas low as $70 per barrel.
This contrasted with his Saturday statements thatgeopolitical tensions, particularly the threat of an invasionagainst Iran, could push oil prices to $200 per barrel.
"Years ago I said oil was going to go to $100 per barrel,now it looks like it is headed toward $200," he said.(Reporting by Manuel Hernandez, writing by Brian Ellsworth;Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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