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It’s unclear when refining operations will be restored to normal, since it may be difficult to move personnel back to the impacted area.

“Pretty much everything in Baton Rouge, New Orleans area is shut down, representing 12.5% of the nation’s refining capacity,” Lipow said.

Lipow said Exxon Mobil is currently shutting down its entire refining operation in Baton Rouge, responsible for 540,000 barrels a day. Two other refineries in Mississippi remain operational, but the area is under tornado and flood watch, he said. Exxon Mobil said its Baton Rouge refinery was not harmed but it is shutting down operations to stabilize them.

Kinder Morgan’s Plantation pipeline, which also takes gasoline across the southeast, was operating Monday, but its Baton Rouge terminal was without power. Lipow said Plantation transports gasoline from Louisiana refineries, while Colonial also receives oil from Texas refineries.

“No facilities, as far as we hear now, appear to have any serious physical damage, which is good news for consumers,” Kilduff said. But the industry is watching to see how soon operations will be restored and whether refineries will be impacted by power outages.

“The electrical situation is the big unknown right now,” Kilduff said. If refineries are impacted, that could mean gasoline prices would rise even more.

Gasoline demand in the U.S. was a strong 9.57 million barrels a day, the Energy Department reported in its most-recent weekly data. Weekly refined product demand reached another post pandemic high and a level not seen since August 2019, according to TortoiseEcofin. The top three weekly demand readings for gasoline have been in the last several weeks, it said.

“This holiday weekend, there could be epic gasoline demand if trends hold up,” Kilduff said.