Meteorologists are forecasting a particularly intense Atlantic hurricane season this year; they expect 20–25 named storms with a possibility of 30 or more, according to reports froman estimated 23 named storms this year. The potential for a stronger hurricane season suggests heightened risk for weather-related production outages in the U.S. oil and natural gas industry., but only one hurricane made landfall in the United States. None of last year’s storms had a significant impact on U.S.
Hurricanes can also disrupt supply chains for petroleum products. Although petroleum fuels are not refined in Florida, the state has significant gasoline demand. Fuel supplies in Florida arebarges from Gulf Coast refineries, such as those in Texas and Louisiana. Hurricanes and tropical storms can lead to brief disruptions in these barge transfers, leading to associated shortfalls in local supply.
Hurricanes don’t often hinder refining operations in the mid-Atlantic region, although the largest refinery on the East Coast—the 259,000-b/d Bayway refinery in New Jersey operated by Phillips 66—wasby Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Similar incidents at Bayway or storms that limit imports into New York Harbor also present a potential risk to U.S. petroleum supplies.