DOE talking with IEA in case emergency oil needed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Saturday it was providing information to the International Energy Agency on the disruption in U.S. oil production and fuel supplies caused by hurricanes Ike and Gustav in case a drawdown in emergency petroleum stocks was needed.

"We have been producing analysis for the IEA that demonstrates the lost amount of production," Kevin Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, told reporters at a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing.

"We're developing that information and sharing it with the IEA now," Kolevar said.

The IEA, which is based in Paris, is the coordinator of energy supplies held by industrialized countries.

Nearly all U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is off-line due to the hurricanes and many oil refineries along the Gulf Coast are shut-in, which is reducing gasoline production.

The Energy Department and the IEA worked together on the release of millions of barrels of oil in September 2005 after Hurricane Katrina disrupted supplies.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Eric Beech)