Sector Snap: Oil and gas stocks dive

Shares of oil and gas companies dropped Monday as crude prices slid and after Hurricane Ike shuttered much of the nation's refinery network.

Ike slammed into Galveston, Texas, early Saturday with sustained winds of about 110 mph, tearing through homes, streets and public infrastructures.

The storm destroyed at least 10 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and left refineries and pipelines idled or destroyed throughout the region.

Federal officials said it's too early to tell if the damage caused to the nation's energy network will rival that of 2005's Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but noted the damage appeared far worse than that caused by Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $4.77, or 4.7 percent, to $96.48 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. As recently as July, prices had flirted with the $150 mark.

Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. fell $2.85, or 5 percent, to $54.04, shares of Marathon Oil Corp. lost $2.76, or 6 percent, to $43.28 and shares of ConocoPhillips slipped $1.15 to $72.30.

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. dropped $1.92, or 4.6 percent, to $40.30, shares of XTO Energy Inc. decreased $1.07, or 2.1 percent, to $49.12.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. bucked the trend, adding 22 cents to $77.71.