Damage to area refineries not yet known.
As Hurricane Harvey barreled through Texas it also caused gas price increases across the nation. As of Aug. 28, the national average price of gas had moved up four-cents compared to the previous week to $2.37 per gallon, which is the largest one-week surge in price seen all summer, AAA reported.
AAA noted that about one quarter of oil refining capacity in the Gulf Coast had been taken offline, according to forecasts by Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), and eight refineries in Texas had to shutdown.
AAA Spokesperson Jeanette Casselano noted that a “clear understanding of overall damage at the refineries is unknown.”
Hurricane Harvey is expected to continue to impact the region through the middle of the week with an additional 15–25 inches of rain anticipated over the middle and upper Texas coast through Friday.
To help alleviate the tight and potential shortage of supply, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over the weekend that it will waive environmental standards on gasoline for select counties in Texas.