Domestic petroleum demand and production increased notably last week, as the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) energy complex recuperated from the havoc imposed by Hurricane Ida, the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory report showed.

EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report, released Wednesday, showed production climbed to 10.6 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 17, up from 10.1 million b/d a week earlier, when output capabilities were still largely hampered by flooding and wind damage as well as power outages caused by Ida.

The storm hit the GOM on Aug. 29. It initially knocked out nearly all production in the region and kept the majority of oil output offline through early September. The recovery is ongoing, but federal estimates show that more than 80% of...