HOUSTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Oil companies rushed to check for damage to their facilities on Sunday in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which passed over the heart of the U.S. energy industry near Houston, leaving a quarter of the nation's oil and refined fuel production idled. The biggest disruption to U.S. energy supplies in three years sent gasoline prices spiking higher for a second day while U.S. President George W. Bush said federal and state authorities were on the lookout for gouging at the pumps. Emergency officials said Texas refineries appeared to have escaped major flooding and a Reuters witness on Saturday found no visible signs of flooding or significant damage at eight refineries around Houston and Texas City -- a sign production could rebound quickly once power is restored. Some 15 of the state's oil refineries, including the giant Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> refinery in Baytown, were shut down as a precaution ahead of the storm, while another in Louisiana remained shut in the wake of Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago. [ID:nN14349885] Together, the refineries make up just under a quarter of U.S. fuel production capacity. Ike also shutdown crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, representing a quarter of U.S. output, along with the bulk of shipping, port and pipeline operations on shore, hindering the transport of fuel to other parts of the country. U.S. gasoline prices jumped more than 11 cents to $3.795 a gallon since Friday -- the biggest two-day increase since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, according to the AAA's daily survey of more than 100,000 service stations. Katrina and Rita devastated portions of the Gulf Coast, wrecked about 100 offshore rigs and flooded a handful of coastal refineries. The International Energy Agency said it was monitoring U.S. energy supplies in Ike's wake to determine if a release of emergency stockpiles in necessary. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also has relaxed clean air fuel regulations in 11 states to ease any supply disruptions resulting from the storm. Concerns about Ike boosted oil prices 31 cents to $101.18 a barrel on Friday. The New York Mercantile Exchange said it would reopen several hours early on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) due to increased trader interest around the storm. (Reporting by Erwin Seba, Bruce Nichols, Eileen O'Grady in Houston and Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott)
A man rescues a dog trapped inside a flooded basketball court beside the Ilan River as Typhoon Sinlaku hits the northeastern coastal area of Ilan county September 14, 2008. The powerful ...
