Gulf Oil CEO: $1 a gallon gas in 2009

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Friday, Dec 05, 2008

CEO also claims carbon-driven warming a 'myth' as Merrill Lynch predicts $25 a barrel oil

Joe Petrowski, CEO of Massachusetts-based Gulf Oil, has some good news for consumers.

In years past, market speculation inflated prices, said Petrowski. Now that the prices are deflated, speculators may 'overshoot' and actually drive the consumer cost down further.

His statements came shortly before Merrill Lynch & Co. predicted oil prices will plunge to $25 a barrel in the coming year if the global recession begins heavily affecting China.

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Petrowski also claimed that the threat of global warming driven by carbon emissions is a 'myth,' and instead insisted that dependence on oil imports poses a greater threat to economic stability.

Petrowski's remarks were delivered to the South Shore Chamber of Commerce in Randolph, MA, according to a published report.

In spite of his remarks, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its 2005 report on the effect of hydroflorocarbons on Earth's atmosphere, maintained (PDF link) that "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence of the global climate."

AAA's national average gas price for regular unleaded was $1.78 as of Thursday, down from $3.04 this time last year. The highest recorded national average was $4.11, registered July 17, 2007.

Oil was trading at $44 a barrel on Thursday evening.