ExxonMobil's Senior Vice President Neil Chapman warned the public that energy prices may explode in upcoming weeks as reserve inventories dwindle.
Chapman warned at the Bernstein Conference in New York on Thursday that crude oil prices could go as high as $160 a barrel in a few weeks. In February, barrels hovered around $75 each before the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran.
With recent news of progress towards peace between the U.S. and Iran, dated crude dropped from an April average of $117 to $103 in May. However, Chapman explained, prices have stayed low because of the release of strategic petroleum reserves by various nations.
"Commercial inventories of crude oil, of liquids, think petroleum, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, they've all run down. And running down those inventories has mitigated or offset, supplemented by the release of strategic petroleum reserves, which most of the Western countries have done," Chapman said. "All of that has mitigated the impact."
As the reserve inventories reach near their bottom, gas prices are expected to soar as U.S. fighting continues.
"We're approaching unheard of inventory levels," he said. "I mean really, really low levels. You can debate whether that's going to hit those really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you'll see prices shoot up."
Americans have already felt the impact of rising gas prices for the past few months. In May, the average price for a gallon of gas was $4.479 nationwide, a level which has not been seen since 2022. Gas prices in February were $2.908 a gallon, which quickly shot up to $3.638 in March, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Americans will likely see even higher gas prices by the end of the month, Chapman explained, as the crude oil market takes a rough impact from the United States' involvement in Iran.
