BP plc (NYSE: BP) said high oil prices could cap a worldwide financial recovery.
“It is important in the current situation of a fragile global economy and I think right now we are probably walking a fine line,” Bob Dudley CEO of BP told the World Petroleum Congress in Doha.
The comments echo those made by economists. There are threat that WTI crude, which trades above $100, will cause higher prices for gas, oil, and petrochemicals. Oil has risen from under $80 to over $100 in only four months.
There is a threat that crude could trade much higher. Political friction between Iran and the West could interrupt the flow of oil from that nations. Iran is the third largest crude exporter in the world, accounting for about 2.2 million barrels a day. The government there recently said that an interruption of its exports could take the price of crude as high as $250 a barrel