* Hurricane Ike moves into Gulf of Mexico, targets Texas
* Ike projected to pass west of main Gulf oil fields
* Cuba damage estimated at $3 billion to $4 billion
* Ike topples crumbling Havana buildings
By Jeff Franks
HAVANA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike moved away from Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, targeting Texas near the U.S. offshore oil patch after shredding crumbling old buildings in Havana and ripping the communist-run island from end to end.
Ike, barely a Category 1 storm on Tuesday evening with 75 mile-per-hour (120-kph) winds, left a long trail of destruction across the Caribbean and had energy companies fearful it could do the same to their Gulf oil rigs as they scurried to evacuate workers and shut down production.
Forecasters said Ike would likely regain power in the Gulf's warm waters and possibly become a major storm again, revving up to a Category 3 on the five-step hurricane intensity scale with a minimum of 115 mph (178 kph) winds.
But latest projections pointed Ike toward the middle of the Texas coast, skirting to the west of the main region for offshore production in the Gulf, which provides a quarter of U.S. oil and 15 percent of its natural gas. Continued...
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