IEA closely monitoring Hurricane Ike, ready to act

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is closely monitoring the impact of Hurricane Ike on U.S. oil and gas production and is ready to act to provide additional supplies if necessary, it said in a statement late on Saturday.

Hurricane Ike, which has weakened to a tropical storm, passed through the Gulf of Mexico last week and made landfall early on Saturday near Houston, Texas. It hit areas with a high concentration of offshore oil and gas facilities.

"Once the impact of Ike becomes clear over coming days, together with the U.S. Government, the IEA will make an assessment of whether the storm caused severe and prolonged damage to oil facilities," the Paris-based IEA said in a statement.

"If a significant supply disruption has occurred, bearing in mind prevailing market conditions, the IEA stands ready to act quickly and provide oil to the market as it did after Hurricane Katrina in 2005."

Total crude production from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico amounts to around 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), equivalent to 25 percent of total U.S. crude output, the IEA added.

Refining capacity in the region makes up an even more significant share. Refinery distillation capacity on the Gulf Coast total more than 8 million bpd, around 47 percent of the U.S. total, according to IEA figures.

Oil and gas companies evacuated platforms and shut in production as a precautionary measure ahead of the storm.