Oklahoma oil companies assessing hurricane damage

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma oil and gas producers are venturing into the Gulf of Mexico to assess hurricane damage to their offshore production platforms.<br/><br/>Two days after Hurricane Rita slammed

Tuesday, September 27th 2005, 6:11 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma oil and gas producers are venturing into the Gulf of Mexico to assess hurricane damage to their offshore production platforms.

Two days after Hurricane Rita slammed into the Texas and Louisiana coastlines, Kerr-McGee says initial inspections indicate its major gulf facilities are intact and that the hurricane caused no structural damage.

Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee says the company is returning workers to deepwater platforms for closer inspections and to prepare to restart production and drilling activities.

The company evacuated offshore facilities last month before Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana and Mississippi gulf coasts.

Spokesman for Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy and Tulsa-based Williams say they are just beginning the assessment process.