Oil production/importation was minimally affected.
The big hit of both storms is that there is a loss of about 200 billion cubic feet of Natural Gas.
We can always import more crude oil, but there are no LNG facilities in the US.
However, there is plenty of reserves already for winter. And the offshore should be able to be back to about 50% natural gas production from offshore oil rigs in a week or less.
Offshore Natural Gas production was just getting above the 50% pre-Katrina levels about a week ago. They might have made 60% of pre-Katrina levels when this storm hit.
Oil production can be made up by tapping the SPR and imports.
And refineries are in much better shape than predicted.
Port Arthur and Lake Charles got dinged a little, but the idiots of the MSM don't realize that large oil refineries have their electric power generators. They can vent their waste gas to fire the backup generators.
These big oil refineries don't need no electric power -- they are meant to be able to operate through a power outage more for safety reasons than anything else...
Gasoline should be okay -- probably drop to $1.90 wholesale or lower. Natural Gas is what is so expensive at about $11 per unit (I think it is 1000 cubic feet).
Henry Hub prices are the standard for Natural Gas.
But President Bush should waive Clean Air regulations just as was done for Katrina -- for the sake of motorists and truckers.
The biggest headache for offshore is that Intracoastal City, Port Arthur, and other land bases for offshore have some damage. But is more of a nuisance compared to what Venice and Port Fourchon went through with Katrina...
You can see the slabs where some of the houses used to be in those photos above - along with telephone poles.