Oil Prices over US$ 100 a Barrel?

Oil prices will soar to well over $100 a barrel and stay high as part of a sustained commodities bull run that has another 15 years to run, billionaire U.S. investor Jim Rogers told Reuters in an interview.

One factor that could bring down the price would be a bird flu epidemic, which would send all asset classes plummeting, he said, although oil would probably fall less than other markets.

"We're going to have high oil prices for a very long time. The surprise is going to be how high it goes," Rogers said.

Reiterating earlier comment oil prices would hit at least $100 a barrel, he said: "It will be much more than $100 before the bull market is over."

U.S. light sweet crude hit a new record of $75.40 a barrel on Wednesday and was trading at close to $75 on Thursday.

Rogers, a former investment partner of billionaire fund manager George Soros, has predicted the commodities bull run has at least 15 years to run.

"It's a major long-term bull market as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Aside from the bullish impact of tensions, described by Rogers as temporary, over Iran's nuclear ambitions and North Korea's missile tests, he said oil was drawing long-term support from the lack of large scale finds.

He did not know whether the Peak Oil theory that oil supplies are either at or very near their peak was correct.

But said: "If there is oil out there, you had better find it soon."

Apart from new supplies, a factor that could lower prices would be a widespread epidemic of bird flu spread between humans.

"If bird flu should break out, everything will go down and oil would go down to $40, but I would still urge people to buy oil. It would go down less than other things and it would be the first to go back up," said Rogers.