(Fixes headline)
HOUSTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Oil and gas production in theU.S. Gulf of Mexico was nearly back to normal on Tuesday, thegovernment said, after the threat of a storm prompted shut-inslate last week.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said6.5 percent oil oil output was shut as of Tuesday, compared witha peak of 61.9 percent on Saturday.
Some 2.1 percent of natural gas production was offline,compared with a peak of 48.2 percent on Saturday.
The agency said it would not update the numbers again afterthe storm.
Energy firms had halted work as a precaution starting onThursday ahead of Tropical Storm Karen, which was downgraded toa depression late Saturday and faltered.
The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 19 percent of U.S. oilproduction and 6 percent of natural gas output. Energy companieshave said they halted facilities with capacity of about 1.06million barrels of oil a day, though many platforms normally donot run full bore. (Reporting By Erwin Seba)