Don't like the weather? Just wait, it'll change. Don't like gas prices? Just wait, they'll change, too. But if the weather brings a hurricane, some experts say gas prices could hit as high as $6 a gallon.
NOAA has predicted as many as nine named storms this season, with five of those possibly reaching major status. One expert in a CNN story says that a typical hurricane will shut down an off-shore oil rig and interrupt supply lines for as long as two weeks. If even one of those damages Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs, you can bet the crude markets will go nuts, and today's black gold and $4/gallon gas will seem like a bargain.
The good news? Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. If we make it to December with no major hurricanes, we might see oil and gas prices fall. Maybe.
[Sources: CNN, NOAA]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
MJK @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:08AM
Yes..thats it! Fuel the fear based media speculation even more!!
Derek @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:25AM
Absolutely an time I hear one of these stories I roll my eyes.
When in the past 20 years has a hurricane ever done this to oil prices. This crap is out of hand.
geo.stewart @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:41AM
2 yrs ago when hurricanes hampered production.
On the plus side, its not the production but the refinery that is the holdup.
not that that will keep anyone from raising prices and claiming the hurricane season as the reason.
matt @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:09AM
#derek
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS237US237&q=hurricane+katrina+oil+rig&btnG=Search+Images
http://images.google.com/images?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS237US237&q=katrina%20mars%20platform&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
do you have any idea what you're talking about?
nataku83 @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:27AM
@geo.stewart - yup, because there aren't any refineries in the gulf coast area....oh wait. living in Houston, I can tell you that a lot of the nation's refineries are on the coast, and we've been having a record hot year with very little rain, so there's a ton of energy in the atmosphere right now.
kory kickul @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:33AM
i agree with your comments.....
enough with all the doom and gloom already.....
stedwoo @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:25PM
40 percent of all US refinery production is done along the gulf coast (2005 numbers). The overwhelming amount of that is located in just 3 locations (South Louisiana, Port Arthur–Lake Charles, Houston–Texas City). When Katrina and Rita hit is knocked out 28 percent of US refining capacity.
Most of the increase in US refining capacity in the years since 2005 has been in this area. So by next years the US refining capacity along the gulf coast may be approaching 50 percent.
While the loss of oil production would be tough the loss of refining capacity cannot be made up for my imports. Though the US imports oil it exports refined products, a large amount of diesel was recently exported to China.
If a Hurricane season like Katrina and Rita back to back happens again with gas priced like it is right now people will wish for 5 dollar gas. Humans have a group mentality so if for no other reason panic/worry will increase the price.
http://www.dallasfed.org/research/houston/2005/hb0508.html tbl 3 http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Sep/05/bz/FP609060311.html
richmajor86 @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:53AM
$6 a gallon? how will you all cope? we pay $9 in the uk.
Kayne001 @ Jun 4th 2008 7:29PM
why does everyone say that?
conversion of life puts it around the same.
for example a 49999 Euro salary converted to the Dollar salary are not the same-> do the same with a ratio of gas and it's not much.
Like I say though it's not the price but speed at which is increasing that makes this a problem that people can complain about.
FrankTheCrank @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:13AM
Oil in the commodities market. Yeah!!!! Now look what we have....$4 a gallon.
Am I the only that feels George W. Bush has allowed the oil companies to do an Enron to the entire country?
What happened to free markets? Competition?
I don't know what's worse, regulation or deregulation of energy?
dejal @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:32AM
2 years ago Congress was taken over by the Dems. They
promised all kinds of things.
They've delivered on very little. One would think they would be all over this. But they are not.
The value of the $ has fallen like a rock to make the US more competitive in the world market. One of the side affects is higher prices. But not all of it is the $ falling in value. The rest of the world isn't getting away with no damage either. That's NOT GWBs fault.
"What happened to free markets? Competition? "
What do you think is happening? You, me, everybody could and can buy oil in the futures market. The price goes up, you win, the price goes down, you loose.
Chris @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:59AM
Well if the Democrats would let us use our own resources instead of relying on Middle East resources we might be able to offset this sudden run up in oil. Instead they // Democrats // are willfully forcing us to buy oil from these regimes and thereby propping up their terrorism.
Yeah, I can twist.
iCameiSawiConquered @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:00AM
@ dejal
Well Congress did try to do something about it, but He Who Holds The Veto Pen ultimately has the final say. The energy bill which upped CAFE would have also eliminated the unnecessary corporate welfare to the most profitable companies in the world right now in the form of tax breaks put in place when oil was $14 a barrel and the oil industry was reeling. There is only so much Congress can do when Bush is there vetoing bills unfriendly to Big Oil left and right. They could open ANWR for drilling...except that when the Republicans controlled Congress for 6 years with Bush there they couldn't do it either.
Secondly. the falling value of the dollar certainly has had an impact. However this is a red herring. The dollar has fallen about 45% since 2002 when it was worth €1.18 to now €0.65--in 2002 oil was worth $25 a barrel and is now at $125, that's a 500% increase.
Yes a lot of things have happened to make the price of oil rise 5 fold in the last 6 years, but the falling dollar is not a significant player here and people who simply claim that this all matter of currency exchange rates are grabbing a super simplistic explanation that doesn't account for the vast majority of the increase int he price of oil.
bakka @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:40AM
NO such thing as a free market! Big gov/ biz manipulate EVERYTHING!
Thomas Jefferson @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:23AM
Vetoing left and right eh? Bush has vetoed a total of 9 bills. Slick Willy vetoed 36. FDR, the bastion of individual freedom that he was, vetoed 372. The last president to veto less was Warren Harding. Maybe a little fact checking would be good before the usual Bush bashing. In fact, if you were going to bash Bush for anything, it would be his lack of Vetoing. He has allowed so many needless bills to be passed that should have been sent to the scrap heap like prescription drugs and the recent CAFE regs. While he is not the worst president ever, that would certainly be Jimmy Carter, he is the worst modern Republican
DKB_SATX @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:51AM
Thomas Jefferson: You're blind if you think Bush is a better president than Carter was. What war did Carter start needlessly? What American city did Carter ignore when a natural disaster wreaked havoc? What covert CIA agent did Carter's staff expose to the media in retaliation for a family member's disagreement with the administration? How much cash did Carter ship off to destabilized foreign countries (CASH... hard currency in huge bundles!) to vanish?
PJ @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:36PM
Chris,
You're aware that the U.S. gets all but 15% of its oil from Canada, South America, and its own soil... right?
Allan @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:16AM
"If we make it to December with no major hurricanes, we might see oil and gas prices fall."
I realize this is a big "maybe" but I still LOL'd.
Not a chance.
BigTeebo @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:36PM
Correct. Gas prices will rise in December because it's cold out, or some other flimsy excuse.
Alex @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:16AM
I don't think we'll be seeing gas prices fall, regardless of the weather.