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September 20, 2005
Hold Onto Your Hats Rita Is Revving Up
By: Rowan
Well before we are through one emergency I hear they are predicting that Rita will rev up to a cat 3 or 4 (or 5?) and it seems to be heading for Galveston and Houston. The Oil rigs and transport stations are being evacuated again. Roughly 56% of oil production is still out from Hurricane Katrina (and 37% of natural gas production), now Rita is heading for the second largest US petroleum region. According to Bloomberg (9/20/05), "It's very worrisome, many oil companies have already started evacuating personnel,' said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy risk management at Fimat USA. 'There's no telling how high prices could go.'"
This could be an energy nightmare for the U.S. with Gulf of Mexico facilities potentially ravaged again, and the second largest US petroleum hub in the bulls eye. It is no wonder that the New York Times reports "OPEC Set to Open Oil Taps Full Blast."
Certainly those people who evacuated to Houston and surrounds from New Orleans must feel cursed as they are potentially in the direct path of yet another hurricane. Personally, the idea of spending yet another hurricane inside a stadium after their last experience is more than I can emotionally embrace.
Stepping back and taking a broader view, I can't help but wonder about the law of natural balance. Here you have the largest consumer and polluter nation in the world - where special interests have staged a lie of a "debate" over global warming, and there is an absolute refusal to reduce energy consumption - to be struck two mighty blows in the hearts of US energy production and refining )Southeastern Louisiana and the Eastern Coast of Texas). Unbelievably, there is still (roughly) the six worst weeks of the "official" hurricane season to go.
If this is some sort of process of nature striking a balance, then the increasing rumblings along the Juan de Fuca Plate of the Cascadia subduction zone may be the next target of Mother Nature. A major quake along this fault could shake up the entire Pacific Northwest - including Alaska. It could also result in a massive tsunami. Either of these events could impact the Alaskan pipeline.
If Rita causes similar levels of destruction to Gulf oil operations as Katrina has, and disrupts refining and transport in the Port of Galveston, then folks may look fondly on those days of $3.00 a gallon gasoline.
We are just starting to see overall prices (food and products) start to climb as the impacts of Katrina ripple across the country. A similar, or even smaller disruption out of Texas could be economically devastating.
Posted by Rowan at September 20, 2005 07:21 PM Category: Peak Oil --- Social Implications