Expect $5 Gas in 2012: Former Shell Oil Chief

Gasoline prices will hit $5 per gallon within the next year, the former president of Shell Oil predicts. John Hofmeister says oil demand will ramp up as developed economies approach a full recovery from the shocks of 2008 and developing economies increase their demand. "I'm predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices," Hofmeister tells Platts Energy Week.

But his opinion is not the consensus: a chief analyst with the Oil Price Information Service tells CNN that $5-a-gallon is coming, but that the recovery in America and Europe will be sluggish enough to keep oil prices below that threshold in the next 12 months. "That wolf is out there and it's going to be at the door, says analyst Tom Kloza. "I agree with Hofmeister that we'll see those numbers at some point this decade but not yet." Click here for more.
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