Oil companies check U.S. facilities in Gustav's wake

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy companies were checking their oil rigs, refineries and pipelines for damage on Tuesday, a day after Hurricane Gustav slammed the Gulf Coast in the first big threat to U.S. fuel supplies since 2005.

Virtually all energy production in the Gulf of Mexico -- which accounts for a quarter of the nation's oil output -- remained shut down in the wake of the storm and companies said it would be days before they would know how quickly it could be restarted.

While initial checks showed little damage to offshore rigs and platforms, onshore refineries were finding the closure of waterways choking their supply of oil, leading them to consider asking for crude from the nation's emergency supply, according to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

"We remain in close communication with the Department of Energy," an Exxon spokeswoman said. "As we assess the impact of Hurricane Gustav we continue to evaluate our supply options."

Refineries were also facing power shortages that could hinder their restart efforts.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the nation's only deepwater foreign crude tanker port, said their was no date for restarting operations as workers began preliminary checks of onshore and offshore facilities.

All 1.3 million barrels of crude and 95.4 percent of natural gas output from the Gulf remained shut on Tuesday. The area provides 15 percent of the country's natural gas production.

About a third of the nation's refining capacity was either shut or slowed down by the storm and initial checks showed that many of the plants appeared to have sustained little or no damage.