US petroleum supplies very fragile to demand

US President George W. Bush said his administration is willing to tap more extensively into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help meet any temporary shortfalls in crude oil supply due to recent hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast region of the United States.

Speaking September 26 at the Department of Energy after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Rita's impact on U.S. energy infrastructure, Bush said the storm had affected the ability of suppliers to get gasoline to markets.

He said that Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina, which struck in late August, "have shown how fragile the balance is between (fuel) supply and demand in America," as well as the need for more refining capacity.

Bush said that U.S. oil companies are assessing the damage to oil production, refining and transportation infrastructure from the recent storm.

He also said U.S. officials will waive production requirements in order to facilitate gasoline imports of gasoline from Europe. Following Hurricane Katrina, the administration had allowed foreign vessels to transport fuel between U.S. ports.

In addition, the president called on Americans to recognize the disruption caused by the storms and to be "better conservers of energy" by curtailing nonessential travel.