NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE: Oil Hedge Fund Manager Says $300 Oil ‘Not Impossible.’

Pierre Andurand, one of oil’s most prominent hedge fund managers, said the current reluctance of energy companies to invest in new production meant $300 a barrel was “not impossible” within a few years.

Andurand, who’s often espoused bullish views, said in a series of tweets on Sunday that concern about the impact of electric vehicles on future demand was limiting investment in projects with long lead times.

“So paradoxically these peak demand fears might bring the largest supply shock ever,” he wrote. “If oil prices do not rise fast enough, $300 oil in a few years is not impossible.”

The hedge fund manager, who runs oil-focused Andurand Capital Management LLP, also went against the conventional view that triple-digit oil prices will dampen demand growth.

“So no, $100 oil will not kill the economy,” he wrote. “And we need +$100 oil to encourage enough investments outside of the U.S.”

A spokesman for Andurand declined to comment on the tweets, which were later removed from Andurand’s Twitter account.

His comments on demand echo those of Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih, who earlier this month suggested that prices could rise further from their current level close to $75 a barrel without doing economic damage.

Left unsaid is that the cure for $300 oil is $300 oil.

In the meantime, American frackers are encountering unexpected hurdles ramping up production to catch $75 oil, which might be making the market seem worse than it actually is.