U.S. fuel crunch fear spreads in Ike’s wake

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Fears of U.S. fuel disruptions spread on Sunday as a quarter of the nation’s energy production lay idled in the wake of Hurricane Ike’s direct hit on the Houston oil hub, threatening to shrink already thin supplies.

Prices at the gas pumps shot higher while oil companies scrambled to check their refineries and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for damage from the biggest interruption to U.S. fuel supplies since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Some 16 refineries were shut ahead of the storm along with all of the crude production in the Gulf of Mexico and a swath of pipeline, port and ship channel operations.

Early indications from emergency officials showed the storm created less flood damage than initially feared — a sign of a possible quick recovery — but companies warned that supply problems were still likely in the near term.

“It may not be possible for us — and other manufacturers — to maintain normal supplies in the coming days,” Chevron Corp said in a statement.

Reuters