FACTBOX: Gustav threatens U.S. Gulf oil, gas, commods
(Reuters) - Forecasters say Hurricane Gustav could be the first major threat to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil fields and ports since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
The Gulf is the source of 25 percent of domestically produced oil and 15 percent of the natural gas. More than a third of U.S. refining capacity is on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
At the center of the "cone of uncertainty" is New Orleans, a major port handling raw materials and foodstuffs. The Port of South Louisiana is the nation's largest in tonnage handled.
Both Katrina and Rita were Category 5 storms, top of the hurricane intensity scale. Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. Rita hit near the Texas-Louisiana line that September.
Gustav, expected to come ashore Tuesday on the Gulf Coast, is forecast as Category 3, still potentially catastrophic.
---- IMPACTS OF GUSTAV ----
- The U.S. Minerals Management Service said Friday the threat of Gustav had shut 86,013 barrels per day of oil production (6.62 percent) and 136 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output (1.84 percent) in the Gulf.
- Crude oil shot up $3 in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday on fears of storm-related output cuts before settling down 13 cents at $115.46 a barrel. Products also rallied
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was waiving the summer blend requirements to ease gasoline supply in coastal Louisiana.
- Louisiana Offshore Oil Port said it was planning to stop offloading ships Saturday but would continue flowing oil from storage.
- Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be used to cover storm-related supply disruptions, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Energy said.
- Operator of Henry Hub, the south Louisiana pipeline junction that is a major pricing point for natural gas on NYMEX, said it may shut down on Sunday.
- Shell Oil Co, the largest Gulf producer, said it was shutting about 72 percent of its 510,000 barrels per day oil equivalent production by Saturday as it withdraws 1,300 workers.
- Oil majors BP Plc and Chevron Corp said they also were shutting production in the path of Gustav.
- Other companies, Exxon Mobil Hess, Petrobras
- Valero Energy Corp said it had made no decisions about its Gulf Coast refineries.
- Few impacts were reported on other commodity prices or shipments due to the threat of Gustav. But cotton closed up Friday.
---- KATRINA AND RITA IN 2005 ----
- Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, killed 1,500 people along the Gulf coast and caused at least $80 billion in damages.
- Some 3,050 of the Gulf's 4,000 platforms and 22,000 of the 33,000 miles of pipelines were in the direct path of either Katrina or Rita, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said.
- The storms forced near total shutdown of Gulf oil and gas production at that time -- 1.5 million barrels per day of oil and 10 billion cubic feet per day of gas.
- Twenty-nine percent of U.S. refining capacity was shut down at the peak of storm disruptions, the American Petroleum Institute said.
- Winds and waves destroyed 124 platforms and damaged about 50 others, damaged or wrecked 535 pipeline segments and sank or set adrift 28 drilling rigs, MMS said.
- Nine months later, 22 percent of federal offshore oil production and 13 percent of gas production remained shut, MMS said.
- New Orleans-based Port Cargo Service operates nine coffee warehouses. Roofs on four were damaged in the 2005 storms. One warehouse was flooded.
- Procter & Gamble's Folgers plant in New Orleans, where 90 percent of the biggest U.S. roaster's coffee was processed, was shut temporarily.
- Metro International Trade Services LLC in New Orleans, a metals warehouse for the London Metal Exchange, experienced significant damage to some of its warehouses.
---- IMPROVEMENTS AFTER KATRINA AND RITA ----
- Strengthened existing platforms and raised design standards for new ones.
- Boosted worst-case wave-height estimates from 70.5 feet to as much as 91.9 feet in the central U.S. Gulf.
- Increased mooring requirements for floating drilling rigs and raised minimum heights for jackup drilling rigs.
(Reporting by Bruce Nichols, Chris Kelly and Marcy Nicholson; Editing by David Gregorio)
