一场正盘旋穿过墨西哥湾的强烈风暴威胁着美国石油和汽油的生产，而此时正值零售汽油和柴油价格在挤压美国消费者和企业之际。飓风“伊斯雷亚斯”（Isaias）正在迅速增强，预计将于周五晚些时候或周六早晨在东北部墨西哥湾沿岸登陆。包括雪佛龙和壳牌在内的大型石油公司已经开始关闭部分石油生产基地。雪佛龙表示，该公司正在关闭其在墨西哥湾的四个资产，不过其在该地区的另外五个设施的生产仍保持在正常水平。
A powerful storm snaking its way through the Gulf of Mexico threatens to disrupt U.S. oil and gasoline production at a moment when retail gas and diesel prices are squeezing American consumers and companies. Hurricane Isaias is rapidly intensifying and expected to make landfall along the northeastern Gulf shore late Friday or early Saturday. Already, major oil companies including Chevron and Shell have begun shutting down some oil production sites. Chevron said it was shutting down four of its assets in the Gulf, although production at its five other facilities in the region remained at normal levels, it said.
壳牌表示，该公司正暂停五个基地的生产。据美国海洋矿产管理局称，截至周四上午，墨西哥湾约25%的石油生产已被暂停。飓风和特大风暴在该地区很常见，因此石油公司已经制定了完善的撤离和停产规程。尽管如此，对美国消费者而言，这个时机再糟糕不过了。美以针对伊朗的战争引发了更广泛的地区冲突，这继续扰乱能源供应并推高石油和汽油价格。
Shell said it was halting production at five sites. All told, approximately 25% of Gulf oil production had been suspended as of Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Marine Minerals Administration. Hurricanes and major storms are common in the region, so oil companies have well established evacuation and shut-down protocols. Still, the timing could hardly be worse for U.S. consumers. The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has spawned broader regional conflict, which continues to disrupt energy supplies and drive oil and gasoline prices higher.
在有报道称美国总统唐纳德·特朗普正考虑对伊朗发动新一轮打击之际，全球原油基准布伦特原油价格在周四早盘交易中飙升近5%。美国汽油价格平均为4.36美元，比一周前略有下降，但在过去一个月里仍上涨了0.21美元。Lipow Oil Associates LLC咨询公司总裁安迪·利波（Andy Lipow）在周三的一份报告中写道：“汽油和柴油库存相当低，此时发生这种情况再糟糕不过了。”
Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices surged nearly 5% in early Thursday trading amid reports that President Donald Trump was considering renewed attacks against Iran. U.S. gasoline prices averaged $4.36, down slightly from a week ago but still up $0.21 over the past month. “This could not have come at a worse time as gasoline and diesel inventories are quite low,” wrote Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC consultancy, in a note Wednesday.
他写道，几乎所有的美国海上产量都在“伊斯雷亚斯”的路径上，“因此，即使是短暂的影响，也可能是巨大的。”利波估计，该国14%的炼油能力正处于风暴的路径上。他写道，鉴于美国大多数炼油厂目前都在以最大负荷运转以应对全球产能紧缩，“系统中已经没有闲置产能了。”
Nearly all U.S. offshore production is in Isaias’ path, he wrote, “So the impact, even short-lived, can be significant.”Lipow estimated that 14% of the nation’s refining capacity is in the path of the storm. Given that most U.S. refineries are now running at maximum levels in response to the global squeeze on capacity, “There is no slack in the system,” he wrote.
作为一种全球交易的大宗商品，汽油等精炼石油产品供应的任何减少都会推升全球价格。
As a globally traded commodity, any reduction in supplies of refined petroleum products like gasoline will send prices higher around the world.
GasBuddy.com石油分析主管帕特里克·德·哈恩（Patrick De Haan）表示，“艾萨亚斯”路径上的炼油厂可能会遭遇洪水，导致其停产长达10天。这预计将对美国汽油价格造成短期的挤压。
Refineries in the path of Isaias are likely to see flooding that could take them offline for up to 10 days, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com. That is expected to produce a short-term squeeze for U.S. gasoline prices.
但对美国驾车者而言，更大的担忧依然在海外——尤其是俄罗斯，乌克兰一直在那里袭击炼油厂。
But for U.S. motorists, the bigger concerns remain overseas — especially in Russia, where Ukraine continues to target refineries.
“炼油问题在短期到中期来看，至少还要持续三到六个月，”德·哈恩说，“而且听起来这种情况还将继续，特别是乌克兰承诺将袭击更多俄罗斯炼油厂。因此，局势需要有所降温才能迎来任何缓解，但目前我们似乎还看不到这种迹象。”
“The refining problem is looking like, short-to-medium term, at least three to six months,” said De Haan. “And it sounds like it’s going to be continuing, especially with Ukraine promising to target more Russian refineries. So there needs to be some deescalation there for there to be any relief, but it doesn’t look like we’re seeing it.”