8 October 2009

News outside EXPO: T. Boone hikes oil, gas positions …

Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens increased his long oil and natural gas position in recent weeks.

“It’s not my personality to be short,” said the billionaire who has made his fortune investing in the oil sector.

Oil prices are likely to be around $75 a barrel by the end of 2009 and $85 by the end of 2010, Pickens said, but added an economic recovery could boost prices much higher.

“If you have a global recovery, then you could easily be $90 a barrel next year, you could be $100 a barrel,” he said.

He also said he sees the average price for natural gas next year at $7 per million British thermal units, up from about $5 currently.

The price ratio of U.S. crude oil futures to U.S. natural gas futures, which widened to a record high in September as oil prices rose, will likely narrow in the coming years, according to Pickens.