Gas Prices Unlikely To Skyrocket As Oil Companies Assess Hurricane Ida Damage

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Although oil companies are still assessing the damage at the oil rigs, platforms and refineries that were struck by Hurricane Ida, signs point toward a limited impact on gasoline availability and prices.

AAA has warned of price volatility, and several analysts expect temporary price increases of several cents, but experts are not expecting a dramatic or prolonged disruption to the market.

"This is not Katrina," says Richard Joswick, head of oil analytics at S&P Global Platts. After Hurricane Katrina made landfall — exactly 16 years earlier — gas prices immediately shot up by 45 cents and remained elevated for two months.

More than a million homes were left without power after Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday night as a powerful Category 4 storm. The storm had strengthened rapidly, a phenomenon that is increasingly common for tropical storms as a result of global warming.