KEY POINTS:
The chief executive of the world's largest energy company has issued the most dire warning yet about the soaring price of oil, predicting it will hit US$250 ($330) per barrel.
The forecast from Alexey Miller, head of the Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom, is the most stark to be expressed by an industry executive and comes just days after the oil price registered its largest-ever single-day spike, hitting US$139.12 per barrel last week amid fears the world's faltering supply will be unable to keep up with demand.
Miller's prediction is well beyond even the most heady market forecasts, the most extreme of which fall between US$150 and US$200 per barrel, and was explained only by vague references to demand from the developing world.
It nonetheless stoked an already febrile atmosphere of growing public anger across Europe over a soaring fuel cost wreaking havoc at nearly every level of the economy.
The British Government was urging motorists not to panic-buy petrol in anticipation of a strike on Friday by lorry drivers who deliver petrol to forecourts for Royal Dutch Shell, assuring motorists contingency plans would ensure sufficient supplies.
In Spain, the regional government of Catalonia enacted an emergency action plan to bring in fresh food and fuel supplies after nearly half its forecourts ran dry and supermarkets shelves were left bare.
The situation was the result of the second day of a nationwide strike staged by lorry drivers in Spain seeking their government's help to contain the effects of expensive petrol.
Scattered protests by drivers and fisherman in France and Portugal also continued yesterday.
- INDEPENDENT
