Total CEO Expects Higher Crude Prices, Supply Squeeze in 2014

(Bloomberg) — Total SA Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said oil will probably rise to more than $145 a barrel on concern supplies may fall short as soon as 2014.

Crude futures peaked at $147.27 a barrel in New York in July 2008 and tumbled almost 70 percent in the second half of the year as the global recession eroded demand. Prices have since climbed 62 percent.

Oil producers must invest in new capacity to avoid a jump in prices, de Margerie said. The slump in crude futures and tightening credit markets have forced explorers to scale back spending plans and scrap expansion projects.