"We're now in the process of assessing any damage done to the infrastructure. And it's a little early right now to come up with a solid assessment," he said at a White House disaster briefing.

"There are some encouraging signs," he said, noting that Hurricane Katrina, which struck the US Gulf Coast in 2005, moved some oil rigs, dragging their anchors across pipelines, damaging them.

"We didn't see much of that this time, although I will tell you that it's a little early to be making any forecasts," he said, adding that Energy Secretary Sam Bodman was in touch with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

"We want to make sure that we're in touch with these energy-producing states to help assess what took place and what needs to happen," said Bush, whose response to Katrina was widely panned.

The US president also seized on Gustav to push the US Congress, controlled by his Democratic foes, to lift a legislative ban on oil drilling on the US outer continental shelf.

"Now they need to give us a chance to find more oil and gas here at home," he said. "And one place to do so is to give us a chance to explore in environmentally friendly ways on the outer continental shelf," he said.

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