Second major US hurricane is 'manageable' on supply: OPEC Sen-Gen

London (Platts)--21Sep2005

OPEC acting secretary general Adnan Shihab-Eldin said Wednesday the
supply impact from a second large hurricane on the southern US would be
"manageable" due to healthy global oil stocks levels.
     Hurricane Rita, currently a category 4 storm, is gaining pace and is now
an "extremely dangerous hurricane" with 140 mph winds as it heads towards the
southeast Gulf of Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m.
EDT (1500 GMT) update.
     Rita is expected to make landfall along the central-eastern Texas/western
Louisiana coast Saturday morning.
     "If it's like Katrina it will be double the headache but I think that on
the supply side it should be manageable," Shihab-Eldin said oil at an oil
conference in London. "I say this because I know there is already plenty of
crude in the stocks." He said he didn't believe levels of supply and demand
justify current prices.
     As of 1445 GMT, WTI November crude was $1.35 higher at $67.55/bbl, down
from the session high of $68.10/bbl as refineries and offshore installations
in the Gulf area began to shut in operations ahead of Rita.

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at http://globalalert.platts.com.

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