Tropical Storm Isaac Shuts Gulf Coast Refineries

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By Trey Thoelcke Published

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As Tropical Storm Isaac is forecast to turn into a Category 2 Hurricane before its makes landfall near New Orleans, it has caused large oil firms to shut many of their platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. This short-term reaction to the storm is not the most serious one for the U.S. economy. The more immediate problem is that refineries around the Gulf will be closed.

Many of these refineries are used to provide gasoline, so the amount of time they are off-line is critical. Gasoline futures have risen steadily over the past several days, and speculators believe that gas prices could rise by 10 cents a gallon in the short term. There is also a chance that some refineries many be damaged by Isaac, which could keep gasoline production down for some time.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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