Refinery explosion threatens to send fuel prices skyrocketing
Gasoline prices have risen for eight consecutive weeks, according to new data released Monday by Gas Buddy in the US and around the closely interconnected world. Now a major refinery explosion in New Orleans could threaten to drive gasoline prices further.
On Monday morning there was a massive explosion at a Garyville refinery , the Marathon, near New Orleans. This event threatens to accelerate the rise in gasoline prices due to the decline in production.
The blast shook the houses and would have been heard from miles away.
The Marathon Petroleum Corp. oil refinery in Garyville, Louisiana is one of the largest refineries in the nation and a major supplier of gasoline and diesel. It has a capacity of 578,000 barrels per day. Now this incident is combined with a natural drop in capacity due to seasonal events: according to Bloomberg, 10% of that region's refining capacity is already inactive for repairs.
Domestic gasoline prices in the United States rose early Monday, climbing 3.2 cents from a week ago to reach $ 3.52 per gallon as tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated. A higher US price also influences those in Europe, where refining capacity is at its limits and international tensions are skyrocketing.
"With the still very high tensions that Russia could invade Ukraine, gasoline prices have continued to rise, driven by rising oil prices as the market focuses on the possible outcomes of the situation that could affect global production of oil. oil amid the recovery in demand, ”said Patrick De Haan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy.
"However, with nuclear talks between Iran and global powers underway in Vienna, the possibility exists that a new deal could restore the supply of Iranian crude oil to legitimate markets, helping to alleviate a small fraction of supply problems." .
De Haan added that the United States is just weeks away from the traditional start of the spring surge in gasoline prices, caused by the switch to summer gasoline, seasonal refinery maintenance and increased demand, and warned that the weeks to come could get worse. with rising prices.
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The article Explosion in the refinery threatens to send fuel prices skyrocketing comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/esplosione-in-raffineria-minaccia-di-mandare-i-prezzi-dei-carburanti-alle-stelle/ on Tue, 22 Feb 2022 07:00:26 +0000.