Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, said it is sending ``post-storm assessment teams'' to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production facilities that were in the immediate path of Hurricane Ike.

``Once we ensure that our systems are both safe and operational, we will begin the process of returning to normal operations,'' Exxon Mobil said in a release today.

The company yesterday said it was returning workers to oil and gas production facilities that weren't in the direct path of the storm.

Ike slammed into the Texas coast Sept. 13, knocking out electricity in Galveston and Houston and flooding neighborhoods.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in New York at rtuttle@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 15, 2008 12:39 EDT