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The Russians have undermined Opec's attempts to talk down the oil market by warning that crude prices could almost double to $250 a barrel within 18 months.
The prediction from Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom, came as the price of oil leaped $2.75 to $137.10 a barrel even though Opec insisted everyone was already "panicking" unnecessarily and stressed there were no shortages.
Gazprom said the higher crude prices it expected would drag gas values up too. "We think it (oil) will reach $250 a barrel in the foreseeable future," said Miller, insisting that high demand rather than financial speculation was the primary factor, an argument that runs counter to that put forward by Opec.
The comments came 24 hours after Tony Hayward, the BP chief executive, said supply constraints were partly responsible for the very high crude prices so far.
A spokesman for Gazprom, which is also one of Russia's largest crude producers, expected the price to hit $250 some time in 2009. The company exports gas to Europe at prices linked to oil products for historic reasons and Miller said the current gas price was $410 per 1,000 cubic metres.
Saudi Arabia says it will call a summit of oil producers and consumers in an effort to stem the surge in the price of oil, amid fears that the world economy could suffer if fuel costs continue to rise.
The world's biggest producer said recent rises, including the record $10 leap on Friday, were not justified by market fundamentals and it would work with Opec to guarantee supplies.
The statement from the information and culture minister Iyad Madani followed a cabinet meeting in Jeddah last week. It stopped short, however, of promising the increase in production requested by western leaders.
