Closed gas operations in the Gulf have little effect on local prices

Dallin Moon MOO05002@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Back-to-back hurricanes triggered setbacks in the energy industry. Immediately after, gas prices escalated to an average of $2.92 per gallon, according to the Automobile Association of America. Energy production and prices will take six months to return to pre-hurricane levels, said Energy Secretary, Samuel Bodman, in an interview with USA Today.

In response, President Bush has advised Americans and federal workers to reduce unnecessary travel to make up for fuel shortages caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“We’re going to go through a very challenging time the next six months,” Bodman said. “Most of us have viewed energy availability as a kind of right of citizenship. Both in terms of gasoline availability and [prices of] natural gas and heating oil, we’re going to have some problems.”

Bush said the government stands ready to release fuel from its emergency stockpile to alleviate high prices. The Department of Energy accounts for over 700 million barrels of oil in underground salt caverns along the gulf coast.

Hurricane Katrina hit the shore of New Orleans on Aug. 29. Hurricane Rita followed, sweeping along the Texas coast on Sept. 24.

The two hurricanes temporarily closed all Gulf oil operations and most natural gas operations. “Only two percent of Gulf oil production has resumed, 21 percent of natural gas,” USA Today reported.

“How long before we return to normal? It’s hard to know, because we have not yet got an assessment [of damage],” Bodman said.

“When Hurricane Katrina hit, rumors went around that gas prices would rise to $4,” said Brittanie Cannady, Horkley’s gas station attendant. “We’ve been at $2.83 and don’t expect prices to rise. We don’t know when they’ll go down though.”

Energy impacts the entire nation. Citizens can practice simple energy conservation habits by turning off lights and electronic devices, changing the thermostat settings, driving slower, car pooling or walking, and reducing unnecessary travel.