Hurricane Ivan continues to have an impact on oil prices
The US government is to let oil refineries borrow crude from its emergency stockpile to make up for supplies disrupted by Hurricane Ivan.
A "limited quantity" will be released, said the US Energy Department.
The decision comes after oil prices briefly hit the $49 barrel mark this week on continuing concerns over the level of US stocks.
US light crude traded up 11 cents to close $48.46 dollars a barrel in New York on Thursday.
Commercial crude stocks fell 9.1 million barrels to 269.5 million barrels last week, their lowest since 6 February.
The Energy Department said it would approve the loans once the details were worked out with the refineries, but did not say how much oil would be loaned or which refineries it would go to.