But although many of Texas’ oil refineries and gas stations are flooded, officials there say that there is no sign of permanent damage.
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But refineries around the country are moving supplies south to cover the shortages.
We know that the USA has enormous oil stockpile, about 700 million barrels, but now, there are no gasoline reserves, and it is not that easy to deliver more of gasoline.
In publicly-listed companies, USA -based Exxon Mobil Corp. was most affected, with 20% of its refining capacity taken offline, said Mr. Reid.
“As the refineries restructured the more competitive refineries have expanded”, said Antoine Halff, Director of the Global Oil Markets Research Program at Columbia University, “The capacity is now in the hands of a few very large players in a few very large plants”.
The company earlier cut production at its Baytown, Texas, refinery, the nation’s second largest.
With Gulf Coast refineries and ports shut after Harvey, it was unclear whether there would be strong demand for an immediate release of crude from the SPR.
“There’s plenty of gasoline”, he said.
Overnight, AAA said gas prices jumped on average ten cents per gallon. Wisconsin’s statewide average is up only about 3 cents per gallon.
Dev Bastola, owner of the Sara’s Mini Mart on State Street in Bettendorf, said he has raised prices at his pumps by as much as 10 cents.
“I don’t know by how much yet”, he said.
Motor fuel prices climbed as much as 6.6 percent in NY, advancing for an eighth session, while crude oil was little changed.
She added that consumers can expect gas prices to climb by up to 35 cents per gallon in the coming weeks.
In Dallas, some gas stations are reportedly out of gas, but more supplies are on the way. They do not forsee any issues keeping their tanks full, but said that doesn’t mean a temporary disruption isn’t still a real possibility.
Locals prepare at a gas station to go on rescue missions voluntarily August 29 during Hurricane Harvey in Conroe, Texas. “It’s just a matter of getting it to the right places before motorists panic”. “AAA does not expect refineries to be offline for months, as early reports indicate minimal to no significant damage to Corpus Christi and Houston refineries”. On Friday, as two refineries began to restart and some ports reopened, gasoline futures fell 2 per cent and the crack spread RBc1-CLc1 fell more than 5 per cent.
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Some parts of Canada are heading into the Labour Day long weekend facing serious gas price hikes, with central Canada taking the brunt of it, analysts say.
