Oil Prices Could Remain High All Summer, Energy Analyst Says

Oil Barrels

David Kirsch, market intelligence service manager for PFC Energy, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he expects oil to trade at $65 to $70 a barrel throughout the summer.

He said preliminary indications of a framework for resolving the standoff between Iran and Great Britain over the recent seizure of 15 English sailors have eased prices a little, but a strike could shut down Nigerian oil production and send prices higher.

“We’re seeing a buildup of tensions within Iraq and at UN Security Council,” Kirsch said Monday. “I think this underscores the rift between the West and Iran. Incidents like this could continue to bubble up in the coming weeks and months.”

Kirsch said the scheduled April 21 presidential election in Nigeria could be cancelled. Not enough ballots have been printed and Adebayo Adefarati of the Alliance for Democracy party, an opposition candidate, recently died.

If the current president declares a state of emergency and cancels the balloting, this could lead to a nationwide general strike or a strike by oil workers that will halt production, Kirsch said.