U.S. military oil spending up 41 pct in 2008

NEW YORK Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense's oil bill jumped 41 percent to nearly $18 billion last year as crude prices hit a record high, the military's fuel-buying arm said on Friday.

The Pentagon's fuel spending jumped even though consumption remained unchanged from 2007 at 132.5 million barrels, or 363,000 barrels per day, the Defense Energy Support Center told Reuters in an email statement.

The DESC said it spent $17.8 billion on fuel last year, compared with $12.6 billion in 2007.

During the year crude oil prices climbed to a record near $150 a barrel in July, but have since fallen below $50 a barrel as the global economic slowdown cuts into demand. [O/R]

The U.S. military is the world's single largest buyer of petroleum, typically purchasing between 100 million and 180 million barrels annually to fuel its ships, tanks, planes, and other operations.

From the start of the Iraq war in 2003, U.S. military fuel consumption has slipped by about 10 percent, but costs have more than doubled.

The DESC will release its complete annual report on its fuel buying operations for the military in mid-March, a spokeswoman said Friday. (Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Walter Bagley)