Crude production hasn’t been impacted by the storm but gas delivery could see issues on the East Coast this week.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which brought winds, rain and flood waters to the Carolinas over the weekend, the national average price of gas continued to hold steady at $2.85 on Monday, Sept. 17, according to AAA.
One reason gas prices haven’t skyrocketed is that the Carolinas are mostly home to pipelines and terminals as opposed to the Gulf Coast, which has dozens of refineries. Crude processing was not impacted.
“Gasoline stocks in the hurricane-impacted area are healthy, but delivery of gasoline will be an impediment to meeting demand in coastal areas this week,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “As power is restored, water recedes and roads open-up, we will have a better idea of how quickly fuel deliveries can be made to gas stations in the area. And while fuel availability at stations is a concern, AAA expects station outages to be short-lived.”
States and the industry are working together to expedite resupply shipments to impacted areas, according to the Department of Energy.