---

Refineries and terminals in Texas and Louisiana have commenced preparations to restart operations after Hurricane Ike reportedly caused mininal damage to facilities in the area.

ExxonMobil Corp, which operates the 557,000 barrels-per-day Baytown refinery, said power and damage to the facility appeared to be "limited". The refinery is the largest in the United States and is also used to provide fuel oil for the local bunker market, including Houston.

Meanwhile, Shell has reportedly said "varying levels" of services were available at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery, which is also used as a source to supply marine fuel and lubricants to Houston and nearby ports.

At Shell's 285,000 barrels-per-day joint venture refinery in Port Arthur, the company said there was currently no electricity at the plant. In a statement released yesterday Shell said "It is too early to predict when the refinery will resume normal operations".

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest oil import terminal in the United States, is scheduled to commence offloading tankers today according to media sources following a conversation with a spokesperson for the port.

The U.S. Department of Energy said yesterday that it has released a total of 939,000 barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve due to oil shortages caused by Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav.

A total of 14 refineries in Lousiana and Texas, with combined crude processing capacity of approximately 3.56 million barrels a day, are currently closed because of Hurricane Ike.