hurricanes and gas prices...........

[Autoplectic <autoplectic@xxxxxxxxx>]

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082601307.html>

12 Petroleum Platforms Evacuated for Storm

The Associated Press
Friday, August 26, 2005; 5:21 PM

NEW ORLEANS -- Twelve petroleum production platforms in the Gulf of
Mexico had been evacuated Friday as Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf
of Mexico, but the flow of oil and natural gas was uninterrupted, a
federal agency said.

In addition, eight drilling rigs had been evacuated in the face of the
storm, the Minerals Management Service reported.

In July, three Gulf storms interrupted some production as energy
prices skyrocketed.

But oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel Friday as traders took
profits from recent record highs even as worries lingered that Katrina
might disrupt supplies.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.36 to settle at $66.13
a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled
Thursday at a record $67.49 after touching $68 earlier in the day.

Last month, Hurricane Emily delayed production of 240,024 barrels of
oil and 1.58 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the MMS.
Hurricane Dennis delayed 5.29 million barrels of oil and 23.3 billion
cubic feet of gas. Tropical Storm Emily delayed 312,127 barrels of oil
and 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Gulf normally produces 547.5 million barrels of oil and 3.65
trillion cubic feet of gas a year.