UPDATE 2-Tapping US heatoil reserve would lower prices-EIA

(Adds heating oil dealers to ask for stockpiled to be tapped)

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - Releasing emergency supplies from the U.S. Northeast Heating Oil Reserve would have a short-term effect on lowering record retail heating oil prices, the head of the federal Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.

"I'm sure it would have a short-term impact" on prices in the Northeast, the world's biggest heating oil market, Guy Caruso told reporters on tapping the 2-million-barrel reserve.

Caruso said he was not aware of any government plans to release supplies from the emergency stockpile.

Heating oil distributors said last week they were planning to ask the Bush administration to release heating oil supplies from the stockpile to ease a cash crunch this winter caused by delayed payments from low-income customers and high prices for their own fuel inventory.

Officials for the dealers were not immediately available on Tuesday to comment on the status of their request.

Caruso pointed out that the market impact of tapping the reserve at this point so late in the heating season would be much less compared to releasing supplies earlier in the winter.

He said heating fuel prices are high due to a combination of record crude oil costs and tight refining capacity to make heating oil.

"Anyone with more capability to produce more diesel, or jet fuel or heating oil would do it under these circumstances because that's where the (profit) margins are the highest," Caruso said. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Marguerita Choy)