Crude might cross $100 this winter: Iran's deputy oil minister

New Delhi (Platts)--2May2006

Crude prices could cross $100/barrel this winter, the traditional high
demand season, Iranian deputy oil minister Mohammad-Hadi Nejad Hosseinian said
Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi during a short break in his
meeting with Indian oil minister Murli Deora, Hosseinian predicted the spike
to the three-digit figure could happen if winter demand for oil is strong and
exceeds output.

Benchmark front-month NYMEX crude futures were trading at $74.23/barrel
in Asia Tuesday. While the price has retreated from the all-time high trade of
$75.35 notched up on April 21 this year, it remains under the influence of
supply fears on account of major OPEC producers Nigeria and Iran.

Militant activity in the Niger Delta has shut in close to 500,000 b/d of
output in Nigeria, while Iran has locked horns with the West over its nuclear
plans, raising a specter of sanctions or military strikes against the Islamic
Republic, potentially jeopardizing crude supply through the Persian Gulf.

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