A top oil executive predicted that the price of crude would continue to soar — climbing to as high as $150 per barrel — unless the government adopts new policies to encourage more exploration.
Doug Lawler — the CEO of Continental Resources, a shale driller controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm — warned that crude output in Texas’ Permian Basin oil field could soon peak, as it already has in rival shale fields like North Dakota’s Bakken Formation and Texas’ Eagle Ford.
Without new exploration, “you’re going to see $120 to $150” oil, Lawler told Bloomberg TV on Monday.
“You’re going to see more pressure on price,” Lawlor told Bloomberg at the inaugural conference.
“That’s going to send a shock through the system.”
Lawler made the dire prediction during the Hamm-run American Energy Security Summit in Oklahoma City, which brought together oil executives, Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, as well as Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
Crude oil prices have been creeping up to $100 a barrel as Russia and Saudi Arabia recently agreed to cut production through the end of the year.
On Tuesday, Brent crude traded over $92 a barrel.
Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark US crude, hovered above $90 — a spike of 12% since the start of the year.
The Energy Information Administration told The Post that it “currently forecasts the Brent crude oil spot price to average around $93 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
The rising oil prices have led to pain at the pump for inflation-battered consumers ahead of next year’s presidential election.
According to the American Automobile Association, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gas was $3.84 on Tuesday — though it has soared above $6 some metropolitan area including Los Angeles.
“AAA surveys of drivers have shown that 40% [of Americans say] $3 per gallon is the price pain point when they would drive less, spend less and change driving habits to afford gasoline,” AAA spokesperson Robert Sinclair told The Post.
US oil production has fallen off after hitting a high in July, and government analysts are forecasting a third straight monthly decline in October, Bloomberg reported.
“I hear people say, ‘We’re back up to record levels of production,’” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told those attending the summit, according to Bloomberg. “With better policy we would be beyond that.”
Lawler’s comments came on the heels of JPMorgan analyst Christyan Malek’s upgrade of the entire global energy sector to an overweight rating in response to the recent surge in oil prices.
Malek warned that crude could swell to $150 per barrel by 2026 — a prediction that’s based on capacity shocks and a transition away from hydrocarbons, according to Yahoo Finance.
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