WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Energy Department is considering whether to provide oil from the government's emergency supplies if a refinery requests it because of the disruption of supplies from Alaska, a department spokesman said Monday.

"If there is a request for oil we'll certainly take a serious look at that," said department spokesman Craig Stevens.

Stevens told CNN the department will talk with BP Exploration Alaska and West Coast refiners later Monday. BP (down $1.46 to $71.08, Charts) shut down its Alaskan pipeline after it found severe corrosion and a small leak. It said it did not know how long the shutdown will last.

The shutdown affects about 8 percent of U.S. oil production, but only about 2.5 percent of the total U.S. oil supply, most of which comes from imports.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman was briefed on the situation Monday morning, Stevens said.

The nation's emergency stockpile of crude oil, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, was created after Arab countries halted petroleum exports in 1973 to protest U.S. support for Israel. It currently contains about 700 million barrels of oil.

The Department of Energy has previously lent oil to refineries when there were disruptions because of pipeline or other problems.

Although most of Alaska's oil goes to refineries on the West Coast and the SPR is on the Gulf Coast, releasing SPR oil would have the effect of relieving prices and making other oil available to western states.

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