With tankers of oil floating in the ocean as mobile storage, and flat demand in the United States, an energy analyst believes there is little risk drivers will pay more at the pumps in the next few years.

Lanny Pendill, an analyst for Edward Jones based in St. Louis, Mo., spoke in Kamloops on Tuesday as part of a tour of the Interior. He spoke at Sports Action Lounge on opportunities in energy and utilities markets.

While the price of a barrel of oil is more than double what it was a year ago, Pendill said he doesn’t expect it to climb significantly higher in the short or medium term.

Prices responded to demand in China over the past year, but demand for oil in the U.S. remains down five per cent – and the country consumes one barrel out of four produced worldwide.

“I think they’re (oil prices) trending at a higher level than warranted…. . We have tankers floating on the open waters storing it. There’s no place for it to go.”

Pendill said he doesn’t see oil prices going much higher than the current $75 to $80 a barrel in the next two to three years – good news for drivers because the price of gasoline is strongly linked to oil.

While he predicts oil is unlikely to climb, Pendill said investors can look to better performance from natural gas. Natural gas storage supplies reached historic levels late last year but have since declined due to a cold North American winter and limited production.

A recovering North American economy will also see more demand for natural gas, helping to restore prices.

Pendill also told investors the Toronto stock exchange remains attractive for international investors, with prices still below long-term averages. He is telling investors in the U.S. and Canada that utilities, including Enbridge and TransCanada Pipelines, offer good long-term value because dividends are double rates of GICs or U.S Treasury bonds.

He said investors typically want to know analysts views on whether the broader market Is due for a correction. But he advises against market timing and said Canadian stocks in general offer good value for the long term.

“A lot of people are calling for a pull back. I can’t promise we won’t have one. Pull backs happen frequently and without warning.”