MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th September, 2021) Hurricane Ida that hit the United States in late August, just like any other natural disaster, will have only a short-term impact on crude oil supplies on the global market and no harsh fallout for the market is expected as reserves will compensate for production shortfall, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday.
"Natural disasters, they, of course, affect short-term supplies, but that is why there are certain reserves that compensate for the suspension of production during that time. I do not believe this should have a strong impact, this is temporary," Novak told reporters.
The official recalled that the OPEC+ countries confirmed earlier in September their adherence to the previously agreed plan on cutting oil production. If the situation on the market considerably changes, the states are always ready to amend the deal, he added.
Hurricane Ida that switched overnight from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane hit areas of the Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey with ferocious winds clocking 150 miles per hour in late August � exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina decimated the region. The death toll has reached 82 so far. The oil output in the Gulf of Mexico is still suspended, with the International Energy Agency estimating related losses to be around 30 million barrels.
