| Page 2 of 2 < |
Gas Prices Start to Rise in Rita's Wake
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
U.S. benchmark crude for November delivery rose $1.63 a barrel on the Nymex to close at $65.82, a reflection of storm damage, analysts said.
All of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico -- normally about 1.5 million barrels a day -- remained shut down yesterday as damage surveys were underway, according to the Minerals Management Service. About 78 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf was down.
U.S. officials were more concerned about the loss of natural gas production, which is not easily made up in imports. Analysts said the shut down production will increase prices for consumers this winter.
Speaking in Washington, President Bush said he was prepared to continue tapping the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide refineries with crude oil as a way to make up for production lost in the Gulf.
Bush said he looked forward to working with Congress on legislation that would encourage more refining capacity.
The president also called on Americans to conserve. "People just need to recognize that the storms have caused disruption and that if they're able to maybe not drive . . . on a trip that's not essential, that would helpful," Bush said.
Oil traders said they were unimpressed by the president's offer of crude oil from the strategic reserves. "The crude isn't the problem," said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy risk management at Fimat USA in New York. "It's refining capacity."
Staff writer Michael Fletcher contributed to this report.
