The Energy Disruptions map published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that many of the country’s energy infrastructure is near wildfires and typical paths of hurricanes. Tropical Storm Marco has weakened just off the coast of Louisiana, but Hurricane Laura is expected to strengthen before making landfall in late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The hurricane has forced upstream producers in the US Gulf of Mexico to evacuate workers from their offshore rigs and shut a large part of their oil and gas output. At the same time, oil refineries and chemical plants along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana are scrambling to shut operations to anticipate strong winds and heavy rainfalls brought by the hurricane. Laura is estimated to have shuttered 2.9 million bpd or about 30% of refining capacity in the US Gulf Coast.
EIA also noted that wildfires, which are affecting large areas of California and Colorado, posed a significant threat to supply and demand for electricity and transportation fuels. An evacuation order usually prompts consumers to increase fuel purchases which can put pressure on local inventories.
