(adds no requests yet for SPR oil due to Ike) WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Saturday it was prepared to release emergency oil stocks from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to fuel supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike. No oil companies have made requests yet for the stockpile's crude due to Ike, a department spokeswoman said. "The companies have not done full assessments at this point," she said. She told Reuters the department "stands ready to release emergency exchanges of crude from the SPR." The department is still dealing with supply problems caused by Hurricane Gustav and "is currently in discussions with additional companies who have requested emergency exchanges of SPR oil as a result of damages incurred by Hurricane Gustav," the spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Tom Doggett, editing by Philip Barbara)
A man walks at a flooded street after Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 13, 2008. Hurricane Ike slammed the Texas and Louisiana coast on Saturday with ferocious winds and a ...
