Arbusto! Or, I guess I picked a bad week to give up sniffing glue

A totally random roundup of the day's post-Hurricane Katrina fossil fuel news….

20 Oil Rigs Missing in Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Coast Guard

WASHINGTON (AFP) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said.[link]
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Poll: Oil Spike Blamed on Bush, Big Oil: Over Two-Thirds of Americans Say High Gas Prices Are Causing Financial Pains, and They Blame Bush

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Even before feeling the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina, more than two-thirds of Americans said this week that high gas prices were causing them financial hardship -- 18 percent claiming serious hardship, 51 percent moderate hardship. [link]
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Some Consumers May See $4 Gas

Storm disruptions to output in the Gulf of Mexico and nine weeks of falling gasoline supplies joined forces to pull regular unleaded gas prices to a fresh record -- and they're still nowhere near their peak, analysts said Wednesday.
There's a "surfeit of worry over gasoline supplies to much of the U.S. and gasoline prices have acted accordingly," said John Kilduff, an analyst at Fimat USA.
[link]
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North Carolina Could Be out of Gas in a Week

Raleigh, NC -- Though the Labor Day weekend is approaching, North Carolina's governor wants you to cut back on your driving. Mike Easley says gas stations across the state haven't been resupplied since Sunday, and are starting to run low on fuel. [link]
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At Least Ten U.S. Airports Face Closure Due to Jet Fuel Shortages

Airlines and oil companies are working on plans to supply jet fuel to at least ten U.S. airports that could be shut down due to a lack of jet fuel caused by refinery and pipeline shutdowns from hurricane Katrina. The airports in most jeopardy for closure include Atlanta, Charlotte, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, Tampa, Washington Dulles and West Palm Beach. [link]
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Katrina-Caused Natural Gas Shortage Fuels Conservation Call

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)- Florida's electric utilities Wednesday urged people to conserve electricity because the state's power supply is heavily reliant on natural gas that normally comes from the Gulf of Mexico by pipeline.[link]
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Orange County (Fla) School District Running out of Gas

Orange County School Superintendent Ron Blocker announced Wednesday that the school district is running out of gas, according to a Local 6 News report. The pipelines out of New Orleans that supply the district with diesel fuel have no power and the suppliers have canceled the shipments. So, the school district estimates it has enough gas to bus students to and from school through Friday, Local 6 News reported. [link]
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Canadian Gasoline Prices Soar

Motorists in Canada's biggest cities were jolted awake Wednesday by a stunning jump in gas prices — in some centres costs rose as much as 20 cents a litre — in the wake of the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina on U.S. energy sector. [link]