ExxonMobil’s senior vice president Neil Chapman told investors at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference that crude oil prices could rocket to $160 per barrel. The culprit: global oil inventories approaching what he described as unprecedented lows, driven by the largest supply disruption in recorded history.
Brent crude currently trades around $91 to $92. Chapman’s models suggest that if operational inventory floors are breached, prices could jump to somewhere between $150 and $160.
The supply crisis nobody can ignore
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handles roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, has been effectively blocked amid escalating tensions with Iran. The International Energy Agency has characterized the resulting disruption as the largest supply shut-in in history, with more than 1 billion barrels removed from global markets.
Chapman isn’t alone in sounding the alarm. Chevron executives at the same conference offered their own forecasts, projecting oil prices could reach $140 to $160 per barrel.
