Hurricane Katrina had a major impact on oil and gas prices, especially within the United States. The Gulf Coast is home to a major portion of America's refining capacity. The port of Louisiana is one of its most important inlet for oil imports, and the gulf itself is a major oil producer. Port Fourchon has also suffered long term damage. Louisiana Offshore Oil Port has not.

Gas prices soared after the closing down of the major pipelines connecting the gas of the Louisiana region to the entire East Coast. In Stockbridge, Georgia, regular gas prices came to $5.87 at a BP station. Shortages were feared or experienced in several states including Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina. Many of these were blamed on panic buying. Airports began to report shortages in aviation fuel on 2 September. A shortage could lead to a decrease in food production. Higher prices for heating oil and natural gas were expected as the winter heating season set in.

On 5:10 p.m. EDT, on 31 August, President Bush announced the Energy Department was approving loans from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; aditionally, the EPA announced a nationwide waiver on fuel blend requirements. Bush stated, "This storm has disrupted the ability to make gasoline and deliver gasoline," and "This is going to be a difficult road." Many people have observed however that stores of crude oil do little to address inadequate refinery and distribution capacity due to enviromental and NIMBY concerns.

In order to stabilize world energy supplies, the International Energy Agency offered to sell two million barrels of crude oil and other refined products from national supplies. These supplies would begin entering the US markets within two weeks of 2 September. The press release from the IEA states, "... the implications for the oil market are global."

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