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Oil Markets Exhale as Rita Passes By

NPR | By Jim Zarroli
Published September 25, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT
Despite flooding at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, most of the oil-industry infrastructure in the area suffered only minimal damage.
Amy Walters, NPR
Despite flooding at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, most of the oil-industry infrastructure in the area suffered only minimal damage.

Hurricane Rita damaged three oil refineries in Lousiana and Texas when it stormed ashore with winds topping 120 mph and more than a foot of rainwater. But most rigs, pipelines and refineries appear to have been spared.

As a result, oil industry officials were breathing a sigh of relief Sunday. Oil prices fell on world markets Sunday as traders reacted to news that Rita spared most of the refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Jim Zarroli
Jim Zarroli is an NPR correspondent based in New York. He covers economics and business news.
See stories by Jim Zarroli