Gas prices expected to rise following Ida, experts say

WASHINGTON — Gas prices may go up soon following Hurricane Ida, the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland.

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Almost 95% of oil and gas production facilities across the South were forced to shut down operations before Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29.

According to WSOC-TV, Colonial Pipeline, the biggest petroleum pipeline operator in the U.S, shut down two fuel lines between Houston and Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday. The company called the shutdown a temporary move and “a precautionary and routine safety measure.”

On Monday, The Associated Press said that fewer than 2 million barrels a day of production in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down.

Analysts say the storm might result in a 5 to 10 cent increase in gas prices for a short period.

“The worst-case scenario is Ida might add 10 cents to 20 cents to the price of a gallon of gas through September,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics told the AP.

Zandi also said that the increase in pump prices might last for only a few weeks.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Department announced plans to sell up to 20 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the largest sale this year from the federal emergency pool of oil.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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