Analyst Says Oil Outlook Cloudy

The economy is probably rebounding better than most realize, says Houston energy analyst Dan Pickering, but if oil demand continues to drop, the damage to the energy business will be significant.

“We could be at $70 oil much faster than we predict,” Pickering told a crowd Thursday on the final day of the 2009 Offshore Technology Conference at Reliant Park. “But I think we’ll be at $30 if demand is down again in 2010.”

The bullish side dominated Thursday as crude closed at $56.71 a barrel, its highest price since mid-November, and natural gas closed at $4.081 per million British thermal units, its first close above $4 in six weeks.

Rigzone