Russia's Gazprom, the supplier of a quarter of Europe's natural gas, expects the price of crude oil to almost double as the decade draws to a close, taking gas prices with it.
"We think it will reach $250/bbl in the foreseeable future," Chief Executive Alexei Miller told reporters at a presentation in France. Officials said the prediction was for 2009.
You might remember that Goldman Sachs predicted oil hitting $150 this summer with others making similar prognostications.
But not everyone appreciates these insights. "Why do we listen to these yahoo's when they predict oil at some future, outrageous price," writes Fast Money fan Tim O. "I predict oil at $34 a barrel, but I don't see oil plummeting 5, 8 or 10 percent when I say it. What is the difference? Oh yeah, I don't work for a rating agency that makes up excuses for speculators to run up commodities… sorry, my mistake."
And that leads to our Fast Money Reader Poll. Do you think Gazprom's target will actually drive up the price of crude?
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