Once the field is shut down, in a process expected to take days, BP said oil production will be reduced by 400,000 barrels a day. That's close to 8 percent of U.S. oil production as of May 2006 or about 2.6 percent of U.S. supply including imports, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Without being able to predict the long-range impact, the barrel price is expected to run up $10 this week in short order, and there will more upward pressure until the effects of the shutdown can be properly assessed (and factored into the market).
ReplyDeleteOil at $100 a barrel means gas at $4 -- or maybe $5 -- a gallon.