The storm took an unusual path toward meteorological infamy. The system first became Tropical Storm Harvey on Aug. 17, when it was about 250 miles east of Barbados. Two days later, it disintegrated into a tropical wave. But on Wednesday, the system gained new and startling power, and forecasters issued the first hurricane watches for the Texas coast.
By Friday night, fed by stable air and the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters, it had grown into a Category 4 storm with sustained wind speeds of 130 m.p.h. In years past, major hurricanes caused immediate spikes in oil and gasoline prices, but as hard as Hurricane Harvey has hit the region’s refineries, the impact at the pump has so far been muted.
However, it may take days before the full impact of the storm is known. Roughly a million barrels a day of refining capacity has been shut down on the Gulf Coast, and nearly a quarter of gulf offshore production has been shut. The Corpus Christi shipping terminals responsible for importing and exporting oil and refined products are also closed. And if the ship channel between Port Aransas and Aransas Pass is badly damaged, it could take weeks for production to leave South Texas refineries, even if the plants are not harmed.
Gasoline shortages are already appearing around Houston, where drivers have been waiting in long lines to fill up. Dozens of gasoline stations have run out of fuel in the metropolitan area, and prices at the pump have risen about 3 cents a gallon around the city this week.
Few if any places in the world have as much energy infrastructure in harm’s way as the Gulf of Mexico coast. Houston, Corpus Christi, Texas City and other cities have vast refineries and natural gas terminals, which make and store dangerous chemicals. The gulf itself is crisscrossed by oil and natural gas pipelines that connect production platforms to pipelines onshore. The potential for environmental catastrophe, or at least a crippling blow to the national economy, is always there when a hurricane strikes.
The region’s energy complex has dodged many bullets over the years, but damage assessments after a hurricane hits can take weeks.
The last time a major hurricane hit Texas was 2008, when Hurricane Ike barreled into Galveston, only miles from Texas City and the Houston ship channel, and its high concentration of refineries and chemical plants. There was no disaster, but the ports of Freeport, Texas City and Lake Charles, La., remained closed for days, and extensive flooding crippled some refineries and left them without power for more than a week.
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