HOUSTON — The season’s first Atlantic hurricane and two other storms have done nothing to spur a rise in energy prices, largely because supplies are high and demand low, but oil companies are keeping close watch on their offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
After a quiet start to the 2009 hurricane season, three storms whipped up in recent days, though none appears to pose a threat to the gulf’s massive energy complex.
Crude prices fell to new lows for the month Monday, dropping to around $65 a barrel, and natural-gas prices slumped to new lows as well.
Pump prices have changed little in the past week. On average, a gallon of regular unleaded was selling for $2.641 on Monday, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That’s less than a penny lower than the average price a week ago.
The apparent indifference to storms in the Atlantic stands in stark contrast to last year, when oil prices ticked higher as tropical depressions formed.
Several factors are involved, the biggest being a recession that has cut energy demand at home and abroad. U.S. crude inventories rose again last week and are nearly 20 percent above year-ago levels. Natural-gas supplies also are bloated.
The gulf accounts for about one-quarter of domestic oil output, but the nation’s reliance on the region for natural gas has lessened as producers tap into massive reserves onshore.
Gulf gas production accounts for about 12 percent of total U.S. output, according to the Energy Information Administration, down from roughly 20 percent four years ago.
