Massive hurricane was a near miss
Hurricane Laura landed on the coast of Louisiana as a Category 4 storm -- the worst in the state's history.
There are signs of major wind damage in Lake Charles but fears of flooding didn't materialize and that means that refineries may be able to restart quickly. There was talk of a storm surge that could breach the levees of the low-lying city but that didn't happen. The surge simply didn't penetrate that far inland with the storm moving quickly.
The overall path of the storm was also a near miss. It made landfall in Cameron, LA, which is a sparsely populated area that has been ravaged by previous hurricanes. A short distance to the west is Port Arthur, TX, which is the heart of the US refining industry. It appears to have been largely spared.
Overall, this remains an awful tragedy for the people who were hit and continue to be hit by the hurricane but it's far from the worst-case scenario. As a result, crude prices are falling (with some help from USD strength as well).
Update: Maybe I spoke too soon.
