Dinu Patriciu, chairman of the petroleum group Rompetrol, believes the price of oil per barrel could reach 150 dollars next year, while competitors - Petrom, MOL and OMV - are confident the price per barrel will not exceed 80 dollars next year. "A year ago, we were talking about overshooting the 100-dollar/ barrel mark. Now, large investment banks are already estimating the price will stand at 100-150 dollars/barrel within the next 6-12 months. This is a natural progression, which has to do with the imbalance between reserves and consumption," said Patriciu. Another factor that affects this progression is the cyclicity specific to this industry.

"I think the cyclicity of the petroleum industry and the limited reserves available have a far greater impact on the rises, which heightens tension among markets," stated Mariana Gheorghe, CEO of Petrom, in an article published in this week's issue of Business Magazin. Patriciu's estimates exceed by far predictions made by companies such as Petrom, which estimate prices at around 80 dollars per barrel, MOL: between 60 and 70 dollars and OMV: between 60 and 80 dollars within the next two years. Yesterday, the price of oil barrel reached over 95 dollars, after breaking record highs after record highs over the last few weeks.