Another risk to gasoline prices

June 24, 2012 North Myrtle Beach, SC – Tropical Storm Debbie currently in the Gulf and heading towards Louisiana reminds us of how fragile our dependence upon off shore drilling has become.  Off shore drilling in the Gulf produced 481 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas last year.

While the amount of production removed due to Debbie at this point is not likely to drive up prices, it is still concerning to note that the U. S. Bureau of Environmental Enforcement reports that 7.8 percent of the current daily Gulf production of oil has been ‘shut-in’ and 8.16 percent of natural gas.  

Shut-in involves closing the sub-surface safety vales located below the surface of the ocean floor to prevent the release of oil or gas.  BSEE reports that shutting-in gas and oil production is a standard procedure conducted by the industry.

The shut-in process also included the evacuation of nine platforms and one rig.