Nate was latest hurricane to hit in busy tropical storm season Damage estimates fell to $2.5 billion as New Orleans spared Oil companies were heading back into the Gulf of Mexico and working to restore operations after Hurricane Nate fizzled out over the U.S. South on Sunday. While an estimated 93 percent of U.S. oil production in the Gulf was still shut, no damage had been reported, suggesting crude and natural gas supplies may quickly rebound this week. Power failures related to Nate, which was downgraded to a tropical depression over Alabama, have fallen to about 66,000 customers, utility data compiled by Bloomberg show. Nate spared the U.S. Gulf the worst of its rain and wind by falling apart shortly after making landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 1 hurricane. Losses may reach about $2.5 billion as the system struck a stretch of the coast dotted with casinos […]