Katrina vs Big Oil

Even if the storm has been way overstated, hurricane Katrina has already had an adverse affect on the oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. According to BREITBART.CO:

Oil companies have evacuated workers and shut down more than 600,000 barrels of daily production in the Gulf. Refineries closed down more than 1 million barrels of refining output by Sunday, but that amount could be higher because not every producer reports data, said Peter Beutel, an oil analyst with Cameron Hanover.

"We're shutting down all kinds of everything. This is the big one," he said. "This is unmitigated, bad news for consumers."

Gasoline futures soared more than 20 cents per gallon, above $2.12 per gallon, and natural gas was up $2.20 per 1,000 cubic feet in the opening minutes of trade. The "out of control" buying is spurred by the prospect that the region's numerous refineries could be idled for weeks by flooding, power outages, or both, Beutel said.

The U.S. has ample crude oil supplies, even if major hurricane destruction trims Gulf oil output and foreign imports, but refining capacity is extraordinarily tight. As a result, prices for gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel and other products have flirted with records and could go even higher this week.

"If this thing knocks out significant quantities of refining capacity ... we're going to be in deep, dark trouble," said Ed Silliere, vice president of risk management at Energy Merchant LLC in New York.

The market has been on edge for months, with traders and speculators buying on the slightest fear. With Katrina, all those fears could be realized, Beutel said.

Wouldn't NOW be a great time to start building new refineries and drilling new wells wherever possible in this country? Why didn't the recent energy bill give the go ahead to drill in the frozen tundra of the Alaska nether regions? There isn't an oil shortage. There's a shortage of production and refining. That there are upwards of 40 different gas formulas to satisfy the EPA is ridiculous. President Bush could pass an executive order tonite to make gasoline refining a simpler, more uniform process. Let the left wing eco-freaks begin the protests. They will become as irrelevant as the "ditch people" in Crawford.

People want cheaper, more available oil and gas, and who knows what disruptions may come about in the future.

We need to prepare right now for natural catastrophes such as Katrina as well as for predictable disruptions abroad. Let your Representatives know you would like to be less dependent on foreign oil and demand they allow more domestic production now!

Hugh Hewitt has some essential links about refineries in Louisiana (there are 17!) and other pertinent information about the systemic problems in Congress who ultimately control oil and gas production. Go there! And contact your congressmen