Gulf Region's Oil Output Starting to Rebound
.S. refining capacity will take several more months to get back to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels, but the oil infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region has started to rebound from the storm, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Katrina destroyed at least 29 drilling platforms in the gulf and damaged four deep-water wells, the paper reported in a front-page story.
The storm spared one large refinery, an ExxonMobil facility in Baton Rouge, La., that was able to continue turning crude into gasoline, the Journal said.
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told CNBC Thursday that all but four refineries in the region are back up and running, and said that 4% to 5% of U.S. refining capacity will be down for several more months.
Asked about the impact of natural gas production, which can impact home heating oil and diesel prices in the winter, “this is going to be a very tough winter with respect to heating our homes,” he said.
Bodman also said that international pledges of crude oil and refined products, in addition to DOE’s release of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, would help insulate the nation’s fuel supplies from supply shortfalls.
