Damage for drillers 10-20 pct of Katrina-Tidewater

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The damage wrought by the latest two hurricanes on Gulf of Mexico energy operations is no more than a fifth of what they suffered after Hurricane Katrina, according to the chief financial officer of Tidewater Inc (TDW.N).

"What I'm hearing is that the damage from Gustav and Ike is nothing near the catastrophic situation we had after Katrina three year ago," CFO Keith Lousteau told investors at a Bank of America conference in San Francisco on Monday.

Lousteau, a 31-year veteran of the world's largest provider of offshore supply vessels to the energy industry, estimated the damage was "10 to 20 percent of what we had after Katrina."

But, as a result of what he said was still a tough situation, he expected to see greater activity in the region over the normally quiet winter months as offshore drillers work to restore normal output. (Editing by Braden Reddall and Walter Bagley)