Hurricane Laura near Refineries

Hurricane Laura Cat 4 as it approaches coast near Texas/Louisiana border. From an energy infrastructure perspective, the likely path will be between Port Arthur and Lake Charles, both large refinery areas. It is less than 40 miles between the two cities.

With COVID-19 economic declines, motor gasoline inventories are at high levels. Also, the chart highlights the weak refinery activity this year. Although a rebound occurred, production is still well below seasonal levels. Refinery runs in the latest week were 15.3 million barrels per day or 82.0% capacity utilization.

While the hurricane and storm surge will curtail refinery production, motor gas stocks have been high.