http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/spr/index.htm?cnn=yes
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday that the White House plans on tapping the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Bodman said in interviews televised on CNN and other networks that officials have not determined the amount of crude oil that will be drawn from stockpiles, but that it would be a loan to refiners.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!--var clickExpire = "-1";//--></SCRIPT>"The SPR was put in place specifically for this kind of an event," Bodman said in one interview. "We now have, in some instances, problems with getting crude to some refineries."
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Bodman said that crude oil should be available to refiners from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as early as tomorrow.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->The reserve is the government's emergency stockpile of crude oil, which is overseen by the Energy Department. The oil reserves are estimated at more than 700 million barrels that are stored in underground caverns in Louisiana and Texas.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->After Hurricane Ivan struck last September, the U.S. government loaned more than 5 million barrels of crude oil from the reserve.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->U.S. crude oil prices were 21 cents lower at $69.60 in electronic trading following Bodman's comments. Crude prices had risen above $70 a barrel Tuesday before settling up $2.61 at $69.81 a barrel in New York.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday, halting crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and damaging deep-water oil facilities.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Some 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output and more than 88 percent of natural gas production were shut as of Tuesday, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->The region produces more than 1.4 million barrels per day of oil for U.S. consumption, which is equal to about 7 percent of the country's demand.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Nine refineries were also closed along the Gulf Coast due to the storm, and four others scaled back operations, Reuters reported Tuesday. The affected refineries make up 10 percent of the U.S. refining capacity.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Many oil companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell, reported damage following inspection of some deep-water platforms.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Drilling companies Ensco, Transocean and Noble all reported rigs adrift after the storm.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->An official announcement on the reserve release is expected later this afternoon, Bodman said.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday that the White House plans on tapping the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Bodman said in interviews televised on CNN and other networks that officials have not determined the amount of crude oil that will be drawn from stockpiles, but that it would be a loan to refiners.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!--var clickExpire = "-1";//--></SCRIPT>"The SPR was put in place specifically for this kind of an event," Bodman said in one interview. "We now have, in some instances, problems with getting crude to some refineries."
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Bodman said that crude oil should be available to refiners from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as early as tomorrow.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->The reserve is the government's emergency stockpile of crude oil, which is overseen by the Energy Department. The oil reserves are estimated at more than 700 million barrels that are stored in underground caverns in Louisiana and Texas.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->After Hurricane Ivan struck last September, the U.S. government loaned more than 5 million barrels of crude oil from the reserve.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->U.S. crude oil prices were 21 cents lower at $69.60 in electronic trading following Bodman's comments. Crude prices had risen above $70 a barrel Tuesday before settling up $2.61 at $69.81 a barrel in New York.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday, halting crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and damaging deep-water oil facilities.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Some 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output and more than 88 percent of natural gas production were shut as of Tuesday, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->The region produces more than 1.4 million barrels per day of oil for U.S. consumption, which is equal to about 7 percent of the country's demand.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Nine refineries were also closed along the Gulf Coast due to the storm, and four others scaled back operations, Reuters reported Tuesday. The affected refineries make up 10 percent of the U.S. refining capacity.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Many oil companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell, reported damage following inspection of some deep-water platforms.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->Drilling companies Ensco, Transocean and Noble all reported rigs adrift after the storm.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->An official announcement on the reserve release is expected later this afternoon, Bodman said.
