Publications: The Petroleum Economics Monthly

Oil's Achilles' Heel: What We Learned from Sandy Regarding Logistical Vulnerability (November 2012)

 

Hurricane Sandy vividly exposed the US petroleum sector’s weakness to disruptions from the most troubling aspect of global warming: larger and more extreme storms. In less than three days, a single system laid waste to much of the East Coast’s fuel distribution system. Any rebuilt or repaired terminals, refineries, and storage facilities there will be just as vulnerable to future cataclysms. It would take tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars to harden the facilities permanently.

 

The US East Coast will remain exposed to large storms because the funds required to strengthen petroleum infrastructure on the Delaware River and in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine are not available. Given the region’s importance to the US economy, one would think measures should be taken now to guard it against future catastrophes.

 

The November 2012 Petroleum Economics Monthly reviews the lessons learned from Sandy. To read more, please view the summary PDF provided here. To request subscription information for The Petroleum Economics Monthly, please Contact Us or send us an Information Request.