Hurricane Harvey, expected to make landfall this weekend over southeast Texas, could cause gas prices to surge due to the oil and natural gas infrastructure in the region, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 20% of U.S. crude oil production. Texas accounts for about a quarter of U.S. natural gas production. Some refineries are expected to shut down temporarily and many oil and natural gas operators have already evacuated.
An increase of 5 to 15 cents per gallon is most likely but could increase by as much as 25 cents, Oil Price Information Service analyst Tom Kloza told the AP.
Flashback: Take it from Gustav, Ike, and Isaac — they on average shut down more than one million barrels per day of crude oil production and more than 3 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas production, as well as pipeline and refining capacity.
