Oil At $150-$200/Bbl Possible In Next 6-24 Months – Goldman

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- An oil price “super-spike” to $150-$200 a barrel is increasingly likely within the next six to 24 months, Goldman Sachs says.

“We believe the current energy crisis may be coming to a head, as a lack of adequate supply growth is becoming apparent and resulting in needed demand rationing in the OECD areas in particular the United States,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research note Monday.


Goldman also raised its 2008 spot crude oil price forecasts, pegging West Texas Intermediate crude at $108 a barrel from a previous $96 a barrel, and Brent crude at $108 a barrel from $95 a barrel.

However, “predicting the ultimate peak in oil prices as well as the remaining duration of the upcycle remains a major uncertainty,” the analysts said.

Goldman analysts made waves nearly three years ago when a team led by Arjun Murti, head of Goldman’s energy research team, put forward a theory that oil prices were in the midst of a “super-spike” that could lift oil prices as high as a then-unheard of $105 a barrel.

In March, the group’s prediction was borne out as front-month above $105 for the first time ever.

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