Hurricane Laura is The Biggest Threat to America’s Oil Production in 15 Years

After raising it to the fourth category, Hurricane Laura is classified as the biggest threat to US oil in 15 years, in light of the expected damage to the energy infrastructure in the region as the halt of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico approaches its level during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Just before the hurricane, coastal refineries stopped producing more than 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, or 84% of the production from offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico and evacuated 310 offshore oil facilities, along with about 60.9% of natural gas production.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 45% of total US petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf Coast, as refineries producing gasoline and diesel fuel are expected to plan to halt nine facilities that process approximately 2.9 million barrels per day of oil, or 14.6% of the total. American energy, according to Reuters.

Energy Information Administration data also showed that, before the storm, crude exports rose last week by the most since February 2019 to nearly 3.4 million barrels per day, and US crude inventories fell 4.7 million barrels for the week ending August 21, marking a fifth consecutive week of decline.

Despite this, the Energy Administration indicated that crude supplies are still about 15% higher than the first-year average for this time of year.