Oil execs give wide range on oil price estimates

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Executives with big oil companies on Wednesday gave a wide range of estimates when U.S. lawmakers asked them how high oil prices should be.

At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on oil prices, John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company, the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell, said that his company could be successful with oil prices at $35-$65 a barrel, well below the record U.S. crude oil futures price of $132.08 a barrel hit on Wednesday.

"I think in a range -- somewhere between 35 and 65 dollars a barrel -- is what has been consistent in our ability to run a successful company," Hofmeister said.

Executives with Chevron Corp and ConocoPhillips disagreed.

"I believe that the incremental cost of supplies ... is something above $90 a barrel," said John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips.

Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron, agreed that Hofmeister's price range was too low to allow companies to break even.

Stephen Simon, senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp, declined to give a price estimate.

"I have no idea what the price should be today," Simon said. "I think the market determines that, senator."

(Reporting by Chris Baltimore, editing by Matthew Lewis)