Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil and gasoline rose to a record for a second day after Hurricane Katrina shut 95 percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its 220,000 barrel-a-day Mars platform, equivalent to 15 percent of total U.S. Gulf oil output, suffered damage. Katrina crossed the U.S. coast yesterday after closing the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the largest U.S. oil import terminal. The storm forced the shutdown oil refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi.

``Prices will continue to wander higher as confirmation of the damage comes in,'' said Aaron Kildow, a broker at Prudential Financial Derivatives LLC in New York. ``It will be real tough to get everything back up and running quickly. Refiners that were left undamaged by the storm may not be able to operate at their full potential because of all the missing crude oil.''

Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.61, or 3.9 percent, to $69.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since trading began in 1983. Futures touched $70.85, an intraday record. Prices are 65 percent higher than a year ago.

The storm shut 1.4 million barrels of daily crude-oil output, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore resources. Platforms in the Gulf are responsible for about 30 percent of U.S. output.

Gasoline

Gasoline for September delivery surged 41.39 cents, or 20 percent, to $2.4745 a gallon, the highest since trading began in 1984. Futures touched $2.50, an intraday record. Prices have more than doubled in the past year.

``What we really have to worry about is finished product stocks,'' such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, said Matthew Simmons, chief executive of Simmons & Co., an energy investment bank in Houston, in an interview today. ``When you have a physical shortage, it always appears in finished product stocks, not in crude oil.''

Regular-grade gasoline, averaged nationwide, rose 0.1 cent to $2.604 a gallon yesterday, according to data released today by the AAA, the nation's largest motoring organization. Prices averaged a record $2.614 a gallon on Aug. 19. Pump prices are 39 percent higher than a year ago.

``With gasoline futures at records a nationwide average of $3 at the pump is likely in the near-term,'' said Jason Schenker, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte.

Strategic Reserve

A U.S. refiner has requested a loan of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the first such request since Katrina halted output, an Energy Department spokesman said. The request is under review, department spokesman Craig Stevens said. He declined to say which company asked for the loan or whether it was for a specific amount of crude.

The government loaned 5.4 million barrels of oil last year to refiners whose supplies were disrupted by Hurricane Ivan.

``The government's offer of barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has mitigated some of the upward price pressure on crude oil,'' said Schenker. ``The problems with gasoline and natural gas may not be helped even if the SPR is tapped. If refineries are off line and can't run the extra oil, it will make no difference.''

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port's terminal is located about 20 miles south of the coast and handles about 1 million barrels of crude oil a day, or 11 percent of U.S. imports. It consists of mooring buoys, platforms and pipelines.

``We are encouraged by the initial damage assessment,'' said Mark Bugg, scheduling manager at New Orleans-based Loop LLC, the port operator. ``We are conducting more assessments from our operations center in Galliano,'' Louisiana.

Shipments

The port will not resume oil shipments until power is restored, Bugg said. Entergy Corp., which provides power for the pipeline system connecting the port to refineries, said it will take weeks to rebuild its electric delivery system in Louisiana, where 80 percent of its customers are without power.

Port Fourchon, Louisiana, the base for three-quarters of support services to the Gulf's deepwater oil and gas facilities, is shut because of the storm, said Port Director Ted Falgout.

``We have just got to the head of the port,'' Falgout said. ``We have yet to enter because there are several large vessels on the highway in the port itself.''

More than 600 offshore platforms are within 40 miles of Port Fourchon, according to the port's Web site.

``It's going to be extremely difficult to supply and repair platforms if the port is closed,'' Falgout said. ``The nearest alternative location for logistics is Venice, Louisiana, which was totally destroyed.''

Repairs to Gulf platforms and pipelines damaged by Hurricane Katrina will be delayed if the storm deposited silt in the port's channel, Falgout said.

LOOP `Incredibly Important'

``The LOOP is incredibly important right now,'' said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at Fimat USA in New York. ``If it is not up soon there will be a spillover for refineries in the Midwest, which could run out of crude quickly. This could lead to gasoline shortages in the weeks ahead.''

Katrina caused the shutdown of at least eight U.S. crude- oil refineries, idling about 1.79 million barrels a day of refining capacity, or more than 10 percent of the nation's total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Heating oil for September delivery jumped 16.71 cents, or 8.8 percent, to close at a record $2.0759 a gallon. Futures touched $2.09 during the session, the highest in 27 years of trading on the exchange. Heating oil is 85 percent higher than a year ago.

High Prices, Volatility

``We can see in the short run some very clear signs that the prices are going to remain at very high levels with a very high volatility,'' said Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive of Rio de Janeiro-based Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the largest South American oil producer. ``We don't see any reason why prices should fall in the short run.''

In London, the October Brent crude-oil futures contract rose $2.70, or 4.2 percent, to $67.57 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange, the highest close since trading began in 1988. Futures touched $68.89, a record intraday price. The exchange was closed yesterday for a public holiday.

The storm shut 8.8 billion cubic feet of natural-gas output, equivalent to 88 percent of the total amount of gas produced in the Gulf, according to the Minerals Management Service.

Natural gas for October delivery rose 52 cents, or 4.7 percent, to close at $11.659 per million British thermal units in New York, the highest since the contract was introduced in 1990. Futures touched $12.07 yesterday, a record intraday price.

The Reuters-CRB index of 17 commodities rose as much as 10.22, or 3.2 percent, to 333.45, the highest since 1980. It was up 2.5 percent at 2:30 p.m., the biggest increase since February. The index is up 21 percent from a year ago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 30, 2005 18:21 EDT