From the ABC

Oil prices to stay high for now, BP boss says
The chief executive of the British fuel giant BP, Lord John Browne, has predicted oil prices will stay high in the near future, but are likely to drop sharply in the long term.

In an interview with a German news magazine, Lord Browne claimed the price of oil could halve within the next five years.

"We cannot really count on oil prices easing very much in the near future," said Lord Browne in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel to be published on Monday.

"But is is very likely that oil prices will range in the medium term around an average of $US40 (per barrel). In the long run it could even be $US25 to $US30."

Lord Browne said large reserves remain undiscovered or untapped and new technology will bring down extraction costs.

Meanwhile, in the lead-up to the long weekend, Shell's website shows a 60 per cent increase in the company's receipts from fuel prices.

The Shell margin is said to be 12.4 cents a litre, compared with the 28 days average of 7.7 cents, an increase of 61 per cent.
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Gus winks:
Halving the cost of oil? That would not make commercial sense for the petroleum producers... so I would take Lord Browne claim — the price of oil could halve within the next five years — with a ten tonne grain of salt....