Posted on 09/02/2005 9:06:27 PM PDT by Brett66
Katrina Lays Bare US Refinery Crisis
Washington (AFP) Sep 01, 2005
Hurricane Katrina has shut down 10 percent of US refinery capacity at the worst possible time when oil facilities were already straining to cope with booming summer demand.
Department of Energy figures out Thursday showed that nine refineries are closed and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains at a virtual standstill after Katrina swept a deadly path through the southeastern United States.
Three major oil pipelines connecting the south to the rest of the country are operating at vastly reduced capacity in the deadly storm's wake.
President George W. Bush, having authorised the release of emergency crude supplies to refineries, Thursday ordered a temporary waiver enabling foreign-flagged ships to carry gasoline between US ports.
"In our judgement, we view this storm as a temporary disruption that is being addressed by the government and by the private sector," he told reporters.
"Americans should be prudent in their use of energy during the course of the next few weeks. Don't buy gas if you don't need it," Bush added.
Presenting its latest tally of Katrina's impact on US energy production, the DoE said nine refineries on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were shut down and another three were running at reduced pace.
With refineries elsewhere in the United States operating at 97 percent capacity before the storm struck to cope with sky-high demand for gasoline (petrol), there is no spare capacity to pick up the slack.
"The simplest assessment of the aftermath of Katrina is that the worst possible event has occurred at the worst possible moment," Fimat oil analyst Mike Fitzpatrick said.
"As crude oil and distillate inventories continued to climb heading into the slack demand period, the one element that still laboured under terrific stress was the refining infrastructure -- and that has borne the full brunt of the storm," he said.
Combined, the nine refineries' production capacity is 1.83 million barrels of oil a day -- about 10 percent of total US output.
Refineries as far north as Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are feeling the pinch from supply shortfalls, the DoE said.
A total of 487 platforms and rigs remain evacuated in the Gulf of Mexico, which normally supplies a quarter of US crude production, new figures showed.
Overall, 90 percent of daily Gulf of Mexico crude production is shut down and 79 percent of natural gas output is halted.
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which receives about 10 percent of total US crude imports, has suffered "minimal damage" but remains hampered by lack of electricity, the DoE said.
Katrina has laid bare the burdens placed on the strained US refinery system. Due in part to tougher environmental regulations and local opposition, no new refinery has been built in the United States since 1976.
"Unfortunately for many oil consumers, we will soon see what happens when a supply shock occurs when prices are already at high levels," the US Energy Information Administration said in a report entitled "The Sum of All Fears."
"But the extent to which analysts' fears are realized will largely depend on how long petroleum infrastructure remains offline," it said.
The EIA said some refineries might resume operations within a week or two, "while others will likely be down for a more extended period, possibly several months."
The fear then would be of heating oil shortages as the United States enters the winter months.
American Petroleum Institute president Red Cavaney, however, said the situation has already "significantly improved."
"There is enough (oil) inventory. It's not in the right places. Moving it around will be very critical," he said.
Slow down and carpool where possible. My Honda is getting almost 40 MPG at 60 MPH while Houston drivers continue to pass me at 80 MPH. Apparently, they have not figured this out yet. We can easily cut gasoline usage by 10% just through conservation.
Our summer temps here in Eureka average 65 for highs and 55 lows and it is always chilly because of the humidity. We sleep under a electric blanket almost every night...
Don't forget all the executive orders bill clinton signed to give the environmental NGOs the legal standing to sue the government and private landowners if they try to build power plants and refineries. Especially the environmental justice EO. They ALL need to be revoked by Congress ASAP.
Why can't President Bush just revoke those executive orders?
I think only Congress or the courts can revoke them... but since it doesn't happen very often, I'm not quite sure of the exact process.
Everytime one of these increases in Gas Prices happen, I have to tell my boss, my Trophy Wife, that we are not going out in two vehicles when we can do the errands and shopping in one vehicle, hers because it gets the best mileage. So we plan our trips.
A couple of fishing friends and I are going in one vehicle instead of two or three. Before we drive any distance, tides, river flows, weather and fishing reports are checked and validated.
One of my friends and I swapped boat motors in late July and August. We took off my bigger motor and stored it and put his smaller motor on my boat. It worked fine for our local lake. We used my bigger Electric Salt Water Trolling motor instead of the gas motor when possible. We just recharged the battery after each use. We even used the smaller motor to go on our local river. We allowed a little more time to get to the fishing areas, went upstream on high tide and returned to the dock with the outgoing tide. Again we used my electric motor once we were in the fishing area and to go to close areas. I used my electric motor to dock and then drive the boat on the trailer.
We still have half of a tank on a 3.5 gallon tank after several lake and river trips.
Next week, I will be talking to a few other striper fishers, so we can use our cell phones while fishing. Instead of random going to sites, we will go to different sites and let the others know by cell phone if anything is happening.
Last but not least some of us forcing some fly and tackle shops to mail us products ordered by phone via the internet. One friend in another city asked the owner to start mailing orders instead having to drive to the shop. The owner said he couldn't afford to do that. My friend ordered over $100 from a fly shop in Oregon. He got free UPS shipping and the order in a couple days. He then mailed a copy of the order to the local fly shop. That local is now taking phone orders and shipping any order free or at cost depending on the order amount.
I've cut back my driving , filled up the other day with 87 octane for 2.73 gal and felt I had done well.
I think you need counseling to revive your great American "rugged individualist" free spirit and shed this "we're all in the same sinking boat" Nixon/Ford/Carter Malaise!!!
Snap out of it, man!!! Git a grip!!! Expend that energy!!! Live a little!!! We just had a war for oil, remember?(snicker)
Jimmie Carter told those in the East to convert from heating oil 30 years ago. Unlike gasoline for engines, there are better ways to heat homes.
I hope so.
Preferably a source that is cheap.
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