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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Though Hurricane Helene was the largest storm to hit the continental United States so far this year, commodity prices were weaker even as oil production centers in the Gulf of Mexico closed.
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles per hour. At least 90 people were dead in the storm's wake by Sunday and an estimated 4 million people were without power on Friday in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The storm by Friday had weakened considerably to a tropical storm, but forecasters warned of intense flash flooding and heavy rains. Warnings and watches were in effect for an area stretching from eastern Arkansas to the coast of Virginia.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said area hospitals were in the dark and several people were trapped in their homes due to storm debris.
"We're calling up additional National Guard, and we're going to throw everything we got at it," he told Fox News.
It's too early to estimate the storm damage in terms of costs, but the broader economy seems to be holding up in the face of the threat to everything from port activity to offshore oil and gas production.
Industrial Info found that Kinder Morgan Incorporated (NYSE:KMI) (Houston, Texas) shut down its refined products terminal in Florida with a 1.6 million-barrel capacity ahead of the storm last week. The federal government, meanwhile, said the traffic in and out of the Port of Tampa Bay was halted. Industrial Info learned that in addition to the Tampa Bay port, activities at five other ports were halted in advance of the storm. These include the Savannah Ocean Terminal in Georgia, the Port of Palm Beach in Florida, the U.S. Navy's Kings Bay Dry Dock in Georgia, the Cape Canaveral Deepwater Port in Florida and the Greer Inland Port Container Terminal in South Carolina.
With no refineries of its own, the Port of Tampa Bay handles about 17 million tons of refined petroleum products and natural gas each year. Travel club AAA said ahead of landfall, however, that it didn't expect Helene to impact gasoline supplies.
"But power outages, structural damage and road flooding will hinder people from fueling up for a few days," said Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA. "So any impact on the national average will probably be fleeting."
AAA on Friday put the average retail price at $3.17 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida, only 3 cents per gallon higher than week-earlier levels and 5 cents per gallon lower than the national average.
The late-season storm came weeks after national refiners started shifting to a winter blend of gasoline, which is cheaper than the summer blend due to fewer environmental issues during colder months. Tornados could pose a later threat to the energy sector, however.
Meanwhile, production centers offshore may be slow to recover. By Friday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that about 24% of total production from the U.S. territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico were sidelined, or about 427,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) on average.
The Gulf of Mexico typically accounts for about 15% of total U.S. crude oil production, or 1.8 million BBL/d, though offshore had recovered by around 100,000 BBL/d from earlier last week.
Crude oil prices by Friday had recovered some ground lost to offshore production outages and the potential for more oil from Saudi Arabia, though it was still below the $70 threshold in U.S. markets. West Texas Intermediate had struggled to reach $69 per barrel on Friday.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles per hour. At least 90 people were dead in the storm's wake by Sunday and an estimated 4 million people were without power on Friday in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The storm by Friday had weakened considerably to a tropical storm, but forecasters warned of intense flash flooding and heavy rains. Warnings and watches were in effect for an area stretching from eastern Arkansas to the coast of Virginia.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said area hospitals were in the dark and several people were trapped in their homes due to storm debris.
"We're calling up additional National Guard, and we're going to throw everything we got at it," he told Fox News.
It's too early to estimate the storm damage in terms of costs, but the broader economy seems to be holding up in the face of the threat to everything from port activity to offshore oil and gas production.
Industrial Info found that Kinder Morgan Incorporated (NYSE:KMI) (Houston, Texas) shut down its refined products terminal in Florida with a 1.6 million-barrel capacity ahead of the storm last week. The federal government, meanwhile, said the traffic in and out of the Port of Tampa Bay was halted. Industrial Info learned that in addition to the Tampa Bay port, activities at five other ports were halted in advance of the storm. These include the Savannah Ocean Terminal in Georgia, the Port of Palm Beach in Florida, the U.S. Navy's Kings Bay Dry Dock in Georgia, the Cape Canaveral Deepwater Port in Florida and the Greer Inland Port Container Terminal in South Carolina.
With no refineries of its own, the Port of Tampa Bay handles about 17 million tons of refined petroleum products and natural gas each year. Travel club AAA said ahead of landfall, however, that it didn't expect Helene to impact gasoline supplies.
"But power outages, structural damage and road flooding will hinder people from fueling up for a few days," said Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA. "So any impact on the national average will probably be fleeting."
AAA on Friday put the average retail price at $3.17 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida, only 3 cents per gallon higher than week-earlier levels and 5 cents per gallon lower than the national average.
The late-season storm came weeks after national refiners started shifting to a winter blend of gasoline, which is cheaper than the summer blend due to fewer environmental issues during colder months. Tornados could pose a later threat to the energy sector, however.
Meanwhile, production centers offshore may be slow to recover. By Friday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that about 24% of total production from the U.S. territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico were sidelined, or about 427,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) on average.
The Gulf of Mexico typically accounts for about 15% of total U.S. crude oil production, or 1.8 million BBL/d, though offshore had recovered by around 100,000 BBL/d from earlier last week.
Crude oil prices by Friday had recovered some ground lost to offshore production outages and the potential for more oil from Saudi Arabia, though it was still below the $70 threshold in U.S. markets. West Texas Intermediate had struggled to reach $69 per barrel on Friday.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
