(Updates with closing oil price, refinery restarts) By Erwin Seba HOUSTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil patch continued to recover on Wednesday from Hurricane Ike, the worst storm it has faced in three years. At least five Texas refineries were restarting on the fifth day since Ike slammed into the Texas coast near Galveston and swept over Houston's refinery row, and 10 others were awaiting electricity and industrial gases, some of which are made from natural gas. As of Wednesday, 82.3 percent of the 7.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 95.9 percent of the 1.3 million barrels per day in oil taken daily from the Gulf remained shut, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service. The national gasoline inventory fell to its lowest level ever last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, under the one-two punch dealt Gulf Coast refineries by hurricanes Gustav and Ike. "We had a big drop last week, so a lot of them (refineries) probably didn't even come back from the week before," said Tom Bentz, analyst for BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc in New York. U.S. officials said they were considering international assistance in preventing a national gasoline shortage. The low inventory fueled a rebound in crude oil prices from lows hit earlier in the week. U.S. crude oil <CLV8> <CLc1> settled up $6.01 per barrel at $97.16. "Crude oil prices have rebounded, having fallen sharply to near $90," said Tom Knight, a trader with Truman Arnold in Texarkana, Texas. "At that level, I think the bear market near-term correction has run its course. Prices are also up on low petroleum inventories and on the prospect that they may even go lower in coming weeks." Offshore, companies continued returning crews to platforms which provide one-quarter of national crude supply and 15 percent of natural gas output. Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> and ConocoPhillips <COP.N> said platforms in Ike's path suffered no significant damage and were being restaffed. The U.S. Coast Guard said the Eugene Island 397 platform was missing. The platform's production is equal to 25 percent of the 82 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in natural gas production lost to destroyed platforms, the U.S. Energy Department said. Valero Energy Corp <VLO.N> said on Wednesday it began multiday restarts of its 130,000 barrel per day (bpd) Houston and 245,000 bpd Texas City, Texas, refineries. Both plants have limited supplies of industrial gases, Valero said. Much of the hydrogen used at refineries comes from natural gas. Conoco said its refineries in Alliance and Lake Charles, Louisiana, were increasing production levels while restarting after being shut for Hurricane Gustav. The Alliance refinery also sustained flooding from Ike's storm surge. Shell said its Motiva joint-venture refinery in Norco, Louisiana, was at normal rates Wednesday while its Convent, Louisiana, refinery would resume motor fuel production by the weekend. Both refineries were shut by Gustav. In another sign of recovery, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S. deepwater crude oil port, said it was running at full rates and meeting all customer requests for crude while offloading tankers. Waterways to refineries from New Orleans to Houston were reopening, though some with restrictions while navigational aids were being restored and debris cleared. In the Houston area, 1.37 million customers were without power on Wednesday. (Reporting by Erwin Seba, Bruce Nichols and Eileen O'Grady in Houston; Richard Valdmanis, Haitham Haddadin and Rebekah Kebede in New York, editing by Matthew Lewis)
A child eats cookies outside a Food Town grocery store on the north side of Houston, which was damaged by Hurricane Ike and is operating on generator power as residents search ...
