In the rig-dotted Gulf, located off the southeastern corner of the United States, 717 offshore platforms pump 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and extract 200 million cubic meters of natural gas daily.

That represents 26 percent of US crude oil production and 11 percent of natural gas output.

Refinery capacity along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas totaled 7.3 million barrels per day in 2007, or 40 percent of US capacity, according to the US Department of Energy (DoE).

The Gulf of Mexico is also home to most of Mexico's oil industry.

Mexico pumps 80 percent of its crude oil production -- 3.7 million barrels per day in 2006 -- in the Gulf of Campeche, a part of the Gulf of Mexico west of Yucatan, notably in the giant Cantarell oil field, according to the DoE.

The Gulf of Mexico is particularly exposed to the tropical storms that typically rage between June and the end of November, known as the Atlantic hurricane season.

The last hurricane to strike the area, Hurricane Gustav, did not do as much damage to energy installations as was feared but forced the total shutdown of oil production. Refinery capacity was curbed more than 10 percent, experts said.

The oil industry was coming back on line when Hurricane Gustav arrived, a little more than a week later.

In 2005, the devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita toppled oil platforms, damaged pipelines and flooded refineries.

Three months later, 25 percent of crude oil production remained shut down.

Analysts at Canadian bank CIBC recently highlighted that the Gulf of Mexico, once seen as the best hope for greater US energy self-sufficiency, was increasingly threatened by severe storms that continue to grow in frequency and strength in the region.

"The net result has been a multiyear, and now likely irreversible, decline in oil production from the region. Already down some 300,000 barrels per day from its pre-Katrina peak, Gulf of Mexico production is likely to lose another 200,000 barrels (per day) over the next five years," said Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC.

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