Story by Andreas Exarheas|RigZone.com| Natural gas prices are digesting the damage from Hurricane Milton in Sarasota Country, Tampa, and other areas caught in the band, Frederick J. Lawrence, the ex-Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) Chief Economist told Rigzone in an exclusive interview late Thursday.
“This hurricane compounded the losses already felt from Hurricane Helene, and power restoration will obviously be a priority,” Lawrence told Rigzone.
“Milton has caused lost power to at least 3.2 million homes and businesses thus far and will impact demand in the Gulf Coast region. Florida is the third largest electricity consumer in the U.S. after California and Texas,” he added.
Lawrence told Rigzone that the storm missed supplies in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, he said the larger issue will be resupplying gasoline stations, adding that “Florida is the third largest gasoline-consuming state in the United States.”
According to data on the GasBuddy website, 24.80 percent of gas stations in Florida were without fuel as of 10.30 am ET on October 10. The site showed that 62.97 percent of stations in Tampa/St. Petersburg, 43.68 percent of stations in Sarasota, and 36.63 percent of stations in Fort Myers/Naples were without fuel as of 10.30 am ET on Thursday.
In another exclusive interview with Rigzone late Thursday, David Seduski, the Head of North American Gas at Energy Aspects, highlighted that Hurricane Milton’s “landfall and pass over Florida is going to cut the state’s gas power demand by up to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day for the next few days”.
“The total impact is hard to judge since it will depend on how quickly power outages can be restored. We are already seeing a sharp decline in the state’s gas demand because of storm damages, though,” he told Rigzone.
NATURAL GAS PRICES: November contract: $2.685 per MMBtu, up 0.37%. Year to date, gas has risen about 6%.
A release posted on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ website on October 10 pointed out that, at around 8.30 pm EDT on October 9, Hurricane Milton “made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour near Siesta Key in Sarasota County”.
“Milton moved quickly across central Florida overnight, producing significant flooding and damaging winds near its path,” the release added.
A fact sheet posted on the White House website on October 10 stated that “before Hurricane Milton made landfall, the federal government pre-staged personnel and resources to ensure a robust and immediate response effort could begin once the storm passed”.
“Following Hurricane Milton’s impact on Florida, the Biden-Harris administration is working alongside state and local officials to carry out life-saving response efforts,” it added.
“As conditions on the ground begin to improve, first responders have begun assessing damage and assisting communities. The top response priorities include search and rescue, power restoration, route clearance, and debris clean-up,” it continued.
The fact sheet highlighted that more than 50,000 workers from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada “already are dedicated to the power restoration efforts”.
In a statement posted on its website back in August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that “atmospheric and oceanic conditions continue to support an above-normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, with a 90 percent probability of this result”.
“2024 has only a 10 percent chance of a near-normal season and a negligible chance of a below-normal season,” it added at the time.
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) website no longer tracks Hurricane Milton. At the time of writing, the site is monitoring two weather disturbances in the Atlantic. These comprise Tropical Storm Leslie and an unnamed disturbance in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) did not activate its hurricane response team in response to Hurricane Milton. In September, BSEE activated its hurricane response team in response to two storms – Helene and Francine.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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