White House: tapping oil reserves still an option

The White House said on Tuesday that tapping strategic oil reserves remained an option but it had nothing to announce on the subject despite concerns about supply disruptions resulting from Hurricane Isaac.

"That option has been on the table for some time, and remains on the table, but we have no announcements to make today," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters traveling to Iowa with President Barack Obama.

The White House seriously considered a plan in the spring to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve but shelved it after oil prices came down. Reuters reported earlier this month that the White House was dusting off those plans, and some energy experts viewed Isaac as a potential trigger for such a move.

Oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ground to a near halt and coastal refineries and ports curtailed operations on Tuesday as the storm approached. Oil traders geared up for supply disruptions with refineries closed or at reduced rates, and key import terminals shuttered.

Carney's language on the SPR echoed what the White House has said for some time.