THE transatlantic fuel crisis deepened yesterday as it emerged that Hurricane Katrina has left America with an acute gasoline (petrol) shortage that could continue for several months. Flood-hit US oil companies need to find one million barrels per day to keep the American market in balance and are now scouring the globe for alternative petrol supplies.

Fears of shortages sent wholesale gasoline futures rising further in New York trading yesterday and kept the squeeze on the Rotterdam market, where the price of a tonne of unleaded gasoline rose to a record $855.

The cost of wholesale gasoline in Europe has risen an unprecedented $150 per tonne over several days in anticipation of surging demand from across the Atlantic. Ship charterers are reporting a rush to secure vessels for US East Coast destinations.

The fuel crisis is rapidly acquiring a political dimension as President Bush responded to signs of panic buying by motorists with a call on Saudi Arabia to make more oil available to the US. However, a dip yesterday in crude oil below $69 a barrel demonstrated that America’s problem was a deficiency of gasoline, not crude oil.

The US Energy Information Administration says that crude oil stocks are adequate, but gasoline was tight before Katrina struck. The hurricane’s effects have now moved north, shutting a refinery in the Mid-West because of the closure of a pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico. “Hurricane Katrina may have a more lasting impact on refinery production and the distribution system,” the government agency said.

Nine Gulf coast refineries are still out of action, with four others running at reduced rates, a cut in capacity of 2.2 million barrels of product output a day. According to Damian Kennaby, of Purvin & Gertz, an oil consultancy, that equates to a loss of 1.2 million barrels a day of gasoline supply. “This is really going to hit hard,” he said. “There is very little spare capacity worldwide.”

The suddenness of the fuel crisis in the US has caught Europe unawares. Several countries were preparing yesterday to release emergency stocks of petrol. The EU has 168 million barrels of supplies. Dominique de Villepin, France’s Prime Minister, said yesterday that he would offer French consumers financial compensation to help them to cope with fuel price rises. “We have entered the post-oil era,” he said.

The American search for fuel will affect the shipping market with a leap in demand for vessels. Mr Kennaby expects about ten extra tankers a week to be needed to ship gasoline to the US.

The surging price of oil products has dealt a further heavy blow to America’s airlines, a sector ill-equipped to bear a rise in costs. The price of jet fuel has risen 21 per cent to $2.32 a gallon since August 26, the last day of trading before Katrina struck.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive