I wouldn't take the warm weather and the price drop as the reason to … celebrate yet. There is still three more months of winter ahead of us. |
It seems Mother Nature has mildly apologized for beating us so badly in August and September. But we're not out of the winter yet. A warm January doesn't mean it's going to be a warm February, and the way the natural gas market is, it's a very tight market, which leads to volatile prices. |
The problem in crude oil and transportation fuel markets is that it's very volatile with the unrest in Nigeria, the uncertainty regarding Iran and continuing problems in Iraq. It just leads to unexpected prices in the crude oil market. |
The warmer weather in October and November depressed prices for the front part of the season, but it's still going to be expensive as we continue through the winter. |
These refineries have been through a lot of hurricanes in the past. They aren't fragile. I wouldn't anticipate any structural damage. |