WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department is prepared to provide oil from the government's emergency supplies if a refinery requests it because of the disruption of supplies from Alaska, a department spokesman said Monday.
"We're taking a very serious look at this," said spokesman Craig Stevens, referring to the loss of nearly half of oil shipments from Alaska's North Slope because of a pipeline corrosion problem.
Stevens said the department will be in contact with BP Exploration Alaska Inc. and West Coast refiners later in Monday to assess the situation. "If there is a request for oil we'll certainly take a serious look at that," he said.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., often a critic of the administration's energy policy, said: "This is the appropriate and right thing to do. We're glad the White House's reluctance to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to prevent price spikes seems to have dissipated."
No comments:
Post a Comment