Peter Sutherland, chairman at BP, the UK energy giant, today rejected an "apocalyptic" prediction by Alexei Miller, deputy chairman of Russia's Gazprom, that the price of oil will reach $250 a barrel.

Mr Sutherland told an audience at the European Policy Centre, the Brussels-based policy think-tank, that there was no problem with oil supplies and dismissed Mr Miller’s forecast that the price will nearly double from the $139 record reached last week.

The BP chairman said: “Personally, I don’t believe in some of the more apocalyptic predictions. I don’t believe we’re in for a spike to $250 as suggested in price per barrel.”

Mr Sutherland said he did not believe speculation was driving the rises in world oil prices and instead attributed the spike to increasing demand, geopolitical uncertainty and a lack of investment in developing resources.

He said: “I’m hopeful that we won’t have dramatic further escalations in the price per barrel.”

Yesterday, Mr Miller forecast that crude oil prices could almost double to $250 per barrel as soon as next year and that wholesale gas prices would treble.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery was trading up £1.91 at $133.22 a barrel today, ahead of US inventory numbers due later today that are expected to show low crude stocks.

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