Hurricanes risk putting oil and fuel supplies at risk
US oil markets are bracing for hurricane season, with oil product inventories already low, while forecasts point to a more active stormy season this year.
Between six and ten hurricanes could form in the Atlantic this hurricane season, which begins next month and runs through November, with a seasonal peak in September. According to the US National Ocean Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, three of these could become large storm systems.
The ongoing Nina and above-average Atlantic temperatures contribute to the forecasts.
“ For the 2022 hurricane season, NOAA predicts a probable range of 14-21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 6-10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater), including 3-6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or greater). NOAA provides these ranges with 70% confidence , ”read a Tuesday press release.
This year's hurricane season is of particular concern for the oil industry, with refineries and offshore platforms often closing and evacuating for safety reasons during some of the most severe storms. All this while the inventories of petroleum products are particularly low, especially for diesel, with the possibility of sharp spikes in prices.
According to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report, refineries in the United States are operating above 90% as of May 13, while total gasoline inventories continue to decline and are about 8% below the five-year average. Stocks of distillate fuels increased in the week ending May 13, but are 22% below the five-year average. In this situation, an interruption of a few days due to bad weather is enough to cause heavy interruptions in supplies and a sharp rise in prices. Yet another brick that hits an unlucky year.
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The article Hurricanes risk putting oil and fuel supplies at risk comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-uragani-rischiano-di-mettere-a-rischio-le-forniture-di-petrolio-e-carburanti/ on Wed, 25 May 2022 06:00:15 +0000.