Not that I have thought this through, but this seems a
good move:
The Energy Department said this morning that it would release oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep refineries supplied, prompting a drop in crude oil prices, the first decrease since Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore on Monday and severely disrupted the energy infrastructure along the gulf. Energy secretary, Samuel Bodman, said the decision to release the crude oil was made Tuesday night after an oil refiner asked to borrow from the 700-million barrel reserve. The government did not disclose the name of the company that made the request or say how much oil it would release.
The price for crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 41 cents a barrel, to $69.40. "The department continues to review other requests as they come in," Mr. Bodman said in a statement. "This administration has been clear that SPR is a national asset that can be used in times of supply disruption, like a natural disaster."
Update [2005-8-31 13:41:47 by Armando]: I note that the release from the Strategic Reserve came after a request from a refiner. If, however, the short term problem is refinery capacity, then this seems to do little to ease the problem.