AS the price of a barrel of oil on the open market hovers around $120, market analyst, Jim Jubak, has predicted a market top of $180 per barrel.
In his regular column posted on msn.com, Jubak predicted an additional 50 per cent price increase over the next two years, due to decreased production in Russia, Mexico and Nigeria.
According to Jubak and other industry experts, the decreased production in these regions was a result of a �perfect storm� of geological and political influence in all three countries.
On the geological front, the major oil fields are being depleted at a record pace, and the annual production in all three countries is predicted to drop in 2008.
�There is still plenty of oil in untapped fields, particularly in Siberia, but the cost of getting that oil out of the ground is prohibitive at current prices, particularly when you factor in the taxing of oil revenue.
�And this is where the political aspect of the storm comes into play,� he said.