As if there wasn’t enough to worry about during hurricane season, economic analysts are predicting the economic fallout if a major hurricane hits the Gulf Coast this year — and it isn’t a pretty picture. Consider this from Cnnmoney.com’s recent survey of oil and energy analysts :
Peter Beutel, oil analyst at Cameron Hanover Beutel, said if a Katrina-like hurricane were to hit in July, gas prices could go as high as $5 or even $6.
“The last thing this market needs at this time is a hurricane, because we can’t afford to lose any of our refining capacity at this point,” said Beutel. “If anything bullish happens with the market in this state, it would make it go absolutely crazy.”
Getting more specific, any production interruption at Port Fourchon has energy observers really worried. When asked to ponder that scenario, Eric Smith of the Tulane Energy Institute tells New Orleans’ WWL-TV that $6, $7 or $8 a gallon is a possibility.
“I see no reason to think that it magically stops at one particular level,” he said.