Baton Rouge, La. – Senior Bush administration officials touring the Gulf Coast area devastated by Hurricane Katrina expressed concern Tuesday about possible shortages of natural gas, saying that the region’s production may not recover for months.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said there is less known about the damage to the natural- gas supply system than the effect on crude-oil production. He said in addition to possible pipeline damage, the hurricane shut down gas-processing facilities on land.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who accompanied Bodman, said 90 percent of the gulf oil platforms “will be capable of production by the end of the month.” But she said damage to onshore facilities is expected to keep oil production down.
Norton said 58 percent of gulf oil production remains shut down, as does 38 percent of the region’s natural-gas production.
“But there is more concern about gas because we don’t have an international market” that the country could rely on for supplies as it does with oil, she said.
Last week, the Energy Information Administration estimated natural-gas prices would soar this winter because of Katrina, including as much as 71 percent in parts of the Midwest.
