US President Bush is considering whether to release some oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina, according to media reports reaching here Monday from Waco, Texas.

A decision was expected later in the day, the reports quoted administration officials as saying.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Bush seemed likely to authorize a loan of some oil from the SPR but that details remained in flux, the reports said.

Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern US state of Florida on Aug. 25 and has forced the shutdown of an estimated one million barrels of refining capacity along the nation's Gulf Coast.

When Hurricane Ivan struck at the Gulf Coast last year, Bush authorized loans from the SPR to help refiners make up for missing supplies.

The SPR was established in December 1975, following the Arab oil embargo. The reserve currently holds oil of about 700 million barrels. The Bush administration has stressed repeatedly that the SPR can only be used at a time when US oil supply was severely disrupted.

Source: Xinhua