WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush said Monday that his administration was prepared to release oil again from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to mitigate any shortfall in crude oil caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

    "A lot of our production comes from the Gulf and when you have a Hurricane Katrina followed by a Hurricane Rita, it's natural, unfortunately, that it's going to affect supplies," Bush said after a briefing at the Energy Department.

    He said that "It's important for our people to know that we understand the situation and we're willing to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate any shortfall in crude oil that could affect our consumers."

    Warning Americans to expect some effect on energy supplies, Bush also urged them to curtail any nonessential travel and asked federal employees to carpool as much as possible.

    The Bush administration tapped oil from the SPR to the oil industry to make up for supply losses after Hurricane Katrina had slammed into the Gulf Coast late August. The SPR on the US Gulf Coast currently holds oil of nearly 700 million barrels.

    Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast pre-dawn Saturday, leaving at least three-quarters of a million residents without power and causing new floodings.

    Oil prices fell Monday amid reports of relatively slight damage to US petroleum processing areas in Texas. But the Energy Department said some Texas oil refineries remained shut down in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. Enditem