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Oil is much higher today due to Tropical Storm Rita which passing above Cuba. The storm could do more damage to the oil-producing infrastructure, not mention the already devastated areas of the Gulf Coast.

In Florida, thousands began evacuating the Florida Keys as Rita built up speed off the Bahamas, about 430 miles from Key West. Rita, which strengthened Sunday into a tropical storm, had sustained winds of 60 mph and was forecast to be in the Straits of Florida between the Keys and northern Cuba on Monday, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph, forecasters said. Long-range forecasts showed the system moving into the Gulf of Mexico late in the week as a hurricane, then possibly approaching Mexico or Texas. But forecasters warned those across the U.S. southern coast, which is still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Katrina, that long-term predictions are subject to large errors.

If Rita strikes Texas, the biggest oil refiner in the country, it could spell serious disruption to the industry. Texas has 26 petroleum refineries with the capacity to pump a total of 4.6 million barrels a day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

About half of oil production and 35 percent of gasoline production in the Gulf remains blocked in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, according to the Minerals Management Service.

Posted by edelfenbein at September 19, 2005 1:41 PM