, Columnist
Natural Gas Looks Hurricane-Proof, for Now
So much has changed since Hurricane Katrina.
Far from the flood.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. energy markets, efficient as they are, have already begun pricing Hurricane Harvey’s effects. With refineries and pipelines out of service, gasoline futures have spiked. So far, however, natural gas futures have hardly responded to Harvey, and it may be another week before they do. One thing is certain: The U.S. gas-production sector has changed drastically in the 12 years since Hurricane Katrina.
From Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, 2005, thanks to Katrina, gas futures prices rose 70 percent. But changes in the production landscape have created a less reactive market this year. The gas-production system isn’t hurricane-proof, by any means, but it is more widely distributed than it was.