Hurricane Ike damages several US offshore platforms

HOUSTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Huge waves and howling winds from Hurricane Ike damaged several offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico — including BP’s big Mad Dog facility — a sign a full recovery of oil and natural gas production in the region could be a long way off.

Threats from hurricanes since late August have already cut over 20 million barrels of crude supply from the Gulf of Mexico and idled a quarter of the nation’s refinery capacity — digging deeply into domestic fuel supplies.

“There appears to be some long-term damage in the Gulf of Mexico which is going to make a mark on inventories,” said Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said Tuesday that reconnaissance flights revealed that several of its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were toppled by Hurricane Ike, which struck the Texas coast on Saturday in the biggest hit to the oil industry since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.n Tuesday, the U.S. Minerals Management said in a report.

Reuters