U.S. to release 60M barrels of oil

WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- The Department of Energy said Thursday it would release 60 million barrels of oil from U.S. reserves over 30 days to counter Middle East supply disruptions.

"We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.

"As we move forward, we will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to take additional steps if necessary," Chu said.

The department said the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is currently flush, "at a historically high level with 727 million barrels.

The announcement pushed oil prices lower. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August delivery West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices dropped more than 4 percent to $91.17 per barrel.

With 30 days to release 60 million barrels, the Energy Department would average a release of 2 million barrels per day. The department's statement said political chaos in Libya had cut into world supplies by 1.5 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil a day.

Libyan oil goes primarily to the European market, but it is considered high quality, low-sulfur crude oil that is difficult to replace.