adds background on US coordination with the IEA on the drawdown and results of the first three batches, paragraphs 2 and 3

April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it had loaned 26.03 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to nine oil companies, the third allotment under the Trump administration's effort to curb fuel prices that have surged since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Trump administration agreed in March to release 172 million barrels from the SPR in a coordinated move with the International Energy Agency to draw down 400 million barrels in an effort to control fuel prices that spiked due to the war.

The U.S. has so far offered 126 million barrels in three batches in the form of loans from the SPR, with energy companies required to pay back the crude with extra barrels as interest. Energy companies have signed deals to borrow nearly 80 million barrels, or more than 63% of what the administration offered.

Companies awarded the SPR loans in the third batch include BP Products North America, ExxonMobil Oil Corp and Marathon Petroleum, the DOE said.