Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. approved the release of as much as 900,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to two unidentified refiners, after a request for more supplies to ease fuel shortages in the Southeast.

The refiners receiving the oil will be announced ``if/when the shipment happens,'' department spokeswoman Healy Baumgardner said in an e-mailed statement. Today's release would bring to a total of 5.69 million barrels the amount of oil the department has provided since hurricanes Gustav and Ike stormed the Gulf Coast last month.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue sent a letter earlier this week to President George W. Bush asking for the release of more reserve oil to ease shortages. Gasoline stations in the Atlanta area and other southeastern cities have struggled to get adequate fuel supplies since the storms hit last month.

``These crude releases will help ensure that the Southeast continues to receive consistent fuel supplies as we continue to see more stations receive fuel and lines shorten,'' Perdue, a Republican, said in a separate statement today.

Gasoline inventory levels fell to record lows after the hurricanes swept through the Gulf of Mexico, shutting down 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity. Total motor gasoline inventories as of Sept. 26 are at the lowest levels since August 1967, according to the Energy Department.

Speedy Responses

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a letter to Perdue today that he shares ``your view that timely releases from the reserve serve to lessen the severity of interruptions to crude supply caused by the hurricanes, and I assure you the department will continue to act quickly in response to any additional refinery requests.''

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued waivers for Georgia and other southeastern states that allow them to use other fuel blends to boost potential fuel supply options, Bodman said.

Helping to alleviate the crunch is the Sept. 29 reopening of a major pipeline that carries refined oil products into the region. Colonial Pipeline Co., the world's largest operator of petroleum-product pipelines, ships refined products from Texas to New York.

``Resumption of normal delivery rates by the Colonial pipeline as of Monday, Sept. 29, and the restoration of three- quarters of Gulf refining capacity, are significant steps towards a return to normal gasoline supply in the coming weeks,'' Bodman said in the letter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tina Seeley in Washington at tseeley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 1, 2008 17:55 EDT