by Calculated Risk on 8/30/2005 07:49:00 PM

CBS MarketWatch exaggerates - a little:

"Americans could be swimming in crude, but wouldn't have a drop of gasoline to run their cars."

UPDATE: Series of Port Fourchon photos

Wholesale prices of gasoline are already over $3.00 per gallon on the Gulf Coast:

Wholesale gasoline prices on the Gulf Coast broke $3 a gallon on Tuesday -- far higher than prices at most U.S. pumps -- as major refineries remained shut after Hurricane Katrina, trading sources said.

This could spell a huge spike in retail prices for drivers throughout the United States in the coming days and in particular those in the Southeast, where prices are typically the lowest in the country.
...
"Retail prices are going to vary among regions but for all practical purposes $3 is a floor," said private oil analyst Jim Ritterbusch.

The spike could spread across other regions of the United States due to the shutdown of two fuel pipelines from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, including the massive Colonial Pipeline.

"This tightness of supply in the Gulf Coast is going to spread," said Ritterbusch, of Galena, Illinois. He said the shutdown of a major fuel pipeline from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast could push prices up in other regions.

"This thing has tentacles that are going to stretch all over the place," Ritterbusch said.

There have been some relatively positive damage reports (also CBSMarketWatch):

The vital Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S. port that can handle supertankers, apparently escaped major damage, the manager of the port told Dow Jones NewsWires.

The major onshore port at Port Fourchon, also escaped major damage, according to Dow Jones NewsWires. The port is the base for oil service operations for oil rigs in the Gulf.

However, the channel leading to the port may have suffered severe silting from the storm surge. Dredging the channel could take weeks or longer. There could be a "very large impact to the energy supply," if the port can't reopen, port manager Ted Falgout told CNBC.

The Henry Hub, the junction of several pipelines in central Louisiana that serves as the pricing point for natural gas, reopened Monday afternoon. The condition of pipelines leading to the Henry Hub from the coast is not known.

Also: BP says US Gulf oil rigs intact after Hurricane Katrina. But its the refineries that are critical in the short term. Of the 9 major refineries in the area, only Exxon Mobil's Baton Rouge facility is operational. And, as reported earlier, Valero expect to be out of operation for 1 to 2 weeks. Damage reports are expected tomorrow for some of the other refineries.