Why gas prices in Houston may be unaffected by Hurricane Laura

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by Paul Takahashi Aug. 28, 2020

Gasoline prices are expected to remain low in the Houston area and across the country as the nation’s largest refineries seem to have survived Hurricane Laura relatively unscathed.

Energy companies are starting to assess the extent of damage to refineries that transform crude oil into petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Preliminary reports indicate that the Category 4 hurricane spared the nation’s largest refineries in Beaumont and Port Arthur, which process about 1.7 million barrels of crude a day, from the worst of the devastation.

“It seems like that area largely dodged a bullet and could see a relatively quick restart,” said Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service. “We might see some capacity offline next week, but it won’t be nearly as bad as (Hurricane) Harvey.”

Hurricanes pose a major threat to the nation’s refineries concentrated along the Gulf of Mexico. More than 45 percent of the nation’s refinery capacity is along the Gulf Coast. The refineries between Beaumont and Lake Charles, La., process about 2.6 million barrels of crude a day, according to OPIS.

Refineries are built to withstand hurricane-force winds, but they can suffer major damage from storm surges and excessive rainfall that can flood equipment. Saltwater, in particular, can wreak havoc on electrical connections and corrode metal equipment if it remains flooded for lengthy periods.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Houston-gas-prices-unaffected-by-Hurricane-Laura-15520411.php

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Sometimes I muse on a hurricane taking out a few of these refineries to see the chaos that happens when a lot of the evil CO2 spewing hydrocarbon plants are no longer operating.

Gasoline prices out of the roof, prolonged shutdowns, etc. would be devastating.  Yet our utter dependence upon fossil fuels would be lost on the greenies, and they would simply ratchet up their rhetoric to once and for all stop fossil fuels rather than the awareness that we actually need them.

And the musing stops.