BREITBART.COM - Just The News: "EU Nations to Offer Oil From Reserves
Sep 02 9:17 AM US/Eastern
By ROBERT WIELAARD
Associated Press Writer
NEWPORT, Wales
European nations are offering to provide oil to the United States from their strategic reserves to offset shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, an EU official said Friday.
Separately, the EU executive Commission in Brussels said it has offered disaster help to U.S. authorities trying to cope with the damage caused by the storm, which lashed New Orleans and coastal towns in Mississippi, causing massive flooding.
Speaking on Britain's Sky News network, EU security affairs chief Javier Solana said the U.S. administration has approached several EU member states individually for help. 'Whatever they ask for, it will be given from the reserves of oil that the different (EU) countries are providing,' he said.
Solana did not say if the offers by individual European governments involved supplies of crude or refined oil products, such as gasoline.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the United States has asked member states of the International Energy Agency to provide oil and that Germany would 'of course' support Washington.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, chairing an EU foreign ministers meeting, said the EU as a whole would play no role in supplying emergency deliveries of oil, but added, 'There might be other assistance that can be offered.'
Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and shut down around 90 percent of crude production capacity in a region that is responsible for around 30 percent of U.S. crude output.
The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based oil market watchdog that includes 17 of the 25 EU states, said it is consulting with members on tapping their strategic reserves.
'We have ongoing consultations with all member countries, but we need an unanimous agreement to release strategic reserves,' IEA spokeswoman Gundi Gadesmann said. 'A decision may be reached fast.'
IEA member countries hold some 4.1 billion barrels of public and industry oil stocks, of which roughly 1.4 billion barrels are government-controlled for emergency purposes.
EU officials said 16 of the 25 EU countries maintain a 90-day strategic oil reserve to deal with any sudden shortfalls in supply. They are: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Ireland and Hungary.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it had received a call from the IEA exploring the option of releasing some oil reserves. Japan has one of the largest petroleum reserves in the world, with 320.7 million barrels as of June 30."
Sep 02 9:17 AM US/Eastern
By ROBERT WIELAARD
Associated Press Writer
NEWPORT, Wales
European nations are offering to provide oil to the United States from their strategic reserves to offset shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, an EU official said Friday.
Separately, the EU executive Commission in Brussels said it has offered disaster help to U.S. authorities trying to cope with the damage caused by the storm, which lashed New Orleans and coastal towns in Mississippi, causing massive flooding.
Speaking on Britain's Sky News network, EU security affairs chief Javier Solana said the U.S. administration has approached several EU member states individually for help. 'Whatever they ask for, it will be given from the reserves of oil that the different (EU) countries are providing,' he said.
Solana did not say if the offers by individual European governments involved supplies of crude or refined oil products, such as gasoline.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the United States has asked member states of the International Energy Agency to provide oil and that Germany would 'of course' support Washington.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, chairing an EU foreign ministers meeting, said the EU as a whole would play no role in supplying emergency deliveries of oil, but added, 'There might be other assistance that can be offered.'
Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and shut down around 90 percent of crude production capacity in a region that is responsible for around 30 percent of U.S. crude output.
The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based oil market watchdog that includes 17 of the 25 EU states, said it is consulting with members on tapping their strategic reserves.
'We have ongoing consultations with all member countries, but we need an unanimous agreement to release strategic reserves,' IEA spokeswoman Gundi Gadesmann said. 'A decision may be reached fast.'
IEA member countries hold some 4.1 billion barrels of public and industry oil stocks, of which roughly 1.4 billion barrels are government-controlled for emergency purposes.
EU officials said 16 of the 25 EU countries maintain a 90-day strategic oil reserve to deal with any sudden shortfalls in supply. They are: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Ireland and Hungary.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it had received a call from the IEA exploring the option of releasing some oil reserves. Japan has one of the largest petroleum reserves in the world, with 320.7 million barrels as of June 30."
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