DOE Raises Oil-Price Projections; OPEC Maintains Output Levels

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he Department of Energy raised long-term oil-price projection by as much as 64% over previous forecasts, which could lead to stricter fuel-economy standards on automobile fleets, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Separately, OPEC said it would keep pumping oil at current levels but called for a special meeting in January to review its output, with a possibility of cutting back production in the second quarter of 2006, the paper reported.

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel Monday to close at $61.30, a five-week high, Bloomberg reported. The International Energy Agency also raised its demand projections for next year by about 1.8%, Bloomberg said.

DOE’s Energy Information Administration said in its 2006 Annual Energy Outlook that the “reference price” for crude oil for the year 2025 was $54 a barrel — $21 higher than it had forecast last year.

EIA said its projections for gasoline prices starting in 2008 increased to $1.99 to $2.20 per gallon, from the $1.51 to $1.58 projected last year.

One official with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is in charge of writing rules for corporate average fuel economy, the revised figures were likely have an effect on new CAFE rules, the Journal reported.