The US government today decided to release oil from its petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina.

US President George Bush is expected to visit storm-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast later this week, but first he is returning to Washington to oversee the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

Reports of extensive damage and photos of fallen oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico sent crude oil prices surging above $70 today, as the realities of the long-term damage from Hurricane Katrina began to sink in.

Simon Webb, Reuters

Crude oil futures surged past $70 a barrel for the first time today as Hurricane Katrina headed toward the heart of US oil and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico, shutting down an estimated one million barrels of refining capacity.