World oil price to double by 2022

World oil prices may double in the next decade with a disastrous effect on the global economy according to a report commissioned by the IMF, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday . Global oil prices are currently hovering at historically high levels of $110 per barrel but a combination of rising demand and constrained supply could have major consequences for the global economy, the paper said. "Our prediction of small further increases in world oil production comes at the expense of a near doubling, permanently, of real oil prices over the coming decade," the paper quoted the report's authors as saying. "This is uncharted territory for the world economy, which has never experienced such prices for more than a few months." Persistently high oil prices are already threatening the global economic recovery, International Energy Agency Director Maria van der Hoeven said. Although prices have eased somewhat in recent weeks, the threat of heightened political tension over Iran, limited spare production capacity and unplanned supply outages remain, she said.