Twelve refineries remain shut due to Ike: DOE

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve oil refineries in Texas and Louisiana with a total capacity of 2.996 million barrels per day remain shut due to Hurricane Ike, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday.

Nine oil refineries with a capacity of 2.044 million barrels per day are operating at reduced levels, while seven refineries with a capacity of 1.318 million bpd are operating at normal levels.

The department reported that 27,555 bpd of Louisiana's normal production has been restored, not including federal offshore production. The state of Louisiana normally produces 155,767 bpd.

Separately, the department said Wednesday afternoon 15 major natural gas processing plants with a total capacity of 7.31 billion cubic feet per day are closed in the Gulf of Mexico region, including plants still impacted by Hurricane Gustav.

Fourteen plants with a capacity of 5.60 bcf per day are operating at reduced or normal levels. In addition, nine plants with a capacity of 4.55 bcf per day are capable of restarting once power is restored or upstream gas flow resumes.

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe)