The RAC has warned that there could be an increase in UK petrol prices as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
One litre of unleaded petrol could increase by 4p, reaching the highest level since December 2014.
“The average price of a litre of unleaded on Thursday 31 August was 117.29p and diesel was 118.14p but we could see unleaded rise in the coming days to around 121p a litre, with diesel likely to stay stable around 118.5p,” said RAC spokesman Pete Williams.
“This will be the first time unleaded has been higher than diesel since June 2016 and we expect this to be the case for some time to come, or at least until the US oil industry is able to get refineries back into operation and production in the Gulf Coast returns to normal – to meet the United States’ immense appetite for gasoline,”
“Americans are wedded to their petrol engines and while they have been endeavouring to become more self-sufficient through increased fracking they are now having to buy more unleaded from overseas which is reducing the availability of unleaded for the rest of the world,” he added.
There is currently a shortfall of over four million barrels a day of crude oil. Production in the Gulf of Mexico is also down 13.5 percent.
Motiva, which runs one of the biggest refineries, said: “Given the unprecedented flooding in the city of Port Arthur, it remains uncertain how quickly the flood waters will recede, so we cannot provide a timeline for restart at this time. Our priority remains the safety of our employees and community.”
The hurricane has destroyed thousands of homes and killed 30 people. Texas authorities have estimated damage to cost $125 billion (£97 billion).