No emergency requests for SPR oil yet: U.S. DOE

By Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Refiners so far have not requested any crude oil from the emergency oil stockpile after Hurricane Gustav, the Department of Energy said on Tuesday, but two oil companies said they still were evaluating their needs.

Oil companies were expected to assess damage to oil rigs, refineries and pipelines in the Gulf coast on Tuesday and then, if necessary, request fuel supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a spokeswoman for the department said.

Hurricane Gustav barreled through the U.S. Gulf oil patch before making landfall in Louisiana.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Exxon Mobil Corp would ask for crude oil from the emergency reserve on Tuesday and Shell Oil Co was expected to make a similar request.

Exxon said it was in touch with the Energy Department about oil supply options, including tapping the SPR. Shell Oil said it was gauging its need for crude oil after Gustav, but it had not asked for any SPR oil yet.

"We remain in close communication with the DOE. As we assess the impact of Hurricane Gustav we continue to evaluate our supply options," a spokeswoman for Exxon told Reuters in an email.

Some energy experts said the damage from Gustav will not justify releasing oil from the emergency stockpile, but companies may request SPR oil anyway.

"These refiners don't need the oil, but they may be tempted by the prospect of taking it, storing it, and turning it around in a few months at a profit," said one energy trader who asked not to be identified. "They could do this because of the shape of the futures curve, with prices running a more than $1.00 per barrel premium three months out."

Created by Congress in the mid-1970s after the Arab oil embargo, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve now holds more than 700 million barrels of crude oil at four underground storage sites in Texas and Louisiana.

With a record amount of oil in the reserve and U.S. petroleum inventories held by private companies at very high levels, the United States can handle supply problems caused by the storm, said Kevin Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability.

"We are exceptionally well positioned to deal with temporary disruptions in petroleum supply," he said.

(Additional reporting from Erwin Seba in Houston, Richard Valmanis in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)