Europe to send emergency oil to U.S.

[tocqueville]

By Caroline Jacobs
27 minutes ago


PARIS (Reuters) - Europe will dip into its emergency stocks of gasoline to help the United States through an energy crisis that began when Hurricane Katrina smashed into Gulf coast refiners, EU governments said on Friday.

France, Germany, Spain and Italy declared they were ready to send fuel across the Atlantic in an operation coordinated by the West's energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency.

An industry source in the United States said Europe would release about 1.1 million barrels per day of gasoline, matching production lost from the Gulf coast's battered refineries.

EU nations have watched in horror as the world's richest country struggles with the aftermath of Katrina. Thousands are feared dead and troops in the flooded city of New Orleans have been told to shoot-to-kill to crack down on looting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/bs_nm/energy_katrina_europe_wrap_dc