It will remain open for debate what Gazprom’s and Alexei Miller’s true intentions were this week when he announced the company’s perspective that the price of a barrel of crude oil will rise above $250 as soon as next year, but we can see that 1) he is likely dead wrong, and that 2) this is a dramatically irresponsible and reckless sort of announcement for an industry leader to make. Miller’s projection boldly goes far beyond even the most adventurous predictions, such as that of Goldman Sach’s theory of a “super spike” in demand to drive oil to $200 (Goldman, like many others, is heavily hedged into oil). Many other analysts predict maximum short-term prices rising to between $150 and $200, and others are calling it bubble phenomenon, and that prices could soon sink back to $115. Already Gazprom’s $250 oil bluff has received some harsh reactions.