Oil hysteria, some reality:

Of the 3,050 Gulf Coast drilling platforms in the path of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (out of 4,000 the Minerals Management Service administers), only 109 were completely destroyed while another 50 were extensively damaged; also destroyed were 59 drillings rigs with another 19 suffering major damages. All but one of the drilling platforms completely destroyed were classified by the DOI as being at “the older end of life,” meaning they were not built to MMS’ upgraded design standards. These facilities account for a very low percentage of the Gulf’s oil and gas production (1.7% and 0.9%), and will not be rebuilt.

Since Hurricane Rita, 342 platforms (40%) and 17 drilling rigs (12.7%) remain evacuated. Recovery is taking longer to get underway because those who operate the platforms were affected personally by the hurricanes as well – many having lost their homes, offices and possessions. Many company headquarters are in pieces

Even more significant is the extensive damage experienced by onshore processing facilities. Those onshore issues make it difficult to restore the offshore production.

Still, there are 342 platforms (40%) and 17 drilling rigs (12.7%) remain evacuated. It takes divers going down and examining each and every rig in order to determine damage and repair. It's going to be mid December at the earliest before all production is restored.