Energy cos returning US Gulf operations to normal

HOUSTON, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. energy companies were returning Gulf of Mexico operations to normal on Friday after weathering Hurricane Dolly, the first storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season to threaten production fields and refining centers.

Producers and refiners heaved sighs of relief that the storm, greatly weakened and far inland, packed none of the fury of hurricanes in 2005, which temporarily shut all the Gulf's oil, natural gas and fuel production, pushing prices to then-record highs.

U.S. light crude CLc1 took little notice of Dolly throughout the week and was poised to finish Friday at a new seven-week low under $123.50 per barrel.

Refiner Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) said production at its 295,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, was ramping up to full after being cut because of crude oil shipping interruptions, including the Houston Ship Channel's temporary shutdown.

Output at its 130,000 bpd Houston refinery was expected to be restored during the weekend, Valero said. Like Port Arthur, the Houston refinery had a production cut between 10 percent and 20 percent beginning on Wednesday.

Energy majors Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) continued returning workers to offshore platforms and restoring production on Friday.

Exxon did not say how much of the shut 12,000 bpd in oil production and 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in natural gas output had been turned back on.

Chevron had reduced production by a "minimal" amount and expected it to be back by Friday.

Shell (RDSa.L) was restoring onshore natural gas production in south Texas. The company's offshore output was unaffected by the evacuations of some workers.