This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to set up a Western Refined Fuel Storage Reserve as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reserve must use a salt cavern formation and store refined petroleum products: gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The bill defines Western States as Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The Secretary must identify suitable storage locations in those States, select one location, and, where practical, contract with an existing public or private facility. The reserve must be filled and kept at no less than 75% of minimum capacity for each product during the 5 fiscal years after establishment. Minimum capacities are 5,000,000 barrels of gasoline, 3,000,000 barrels of diesel, and 2,000,000 barrels of jet fuel. The Secretary may withdraw fuel for emergencies, supply disruptions, or other needs consistent with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Secretary is to seek agreements with State and local governments for storing non-Federal product in the reserve and must report to Congress one year after enactment and annually thereafter.
If you live or operate in the listed Western States, the bill would create a regional storage reserve for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel that is meant to improve supply availability in emergencies or supply interruptions. A single selected storage site would be chosen based on proximity to distribution systems, likely shortage areas, speed of distribution, and cost. The reserve could be used in response to local or regional energy supply problems. The Secretary will publish annual reports about how the reserve is set up and operated.
The bill directs that filling and maintaining the reserve during the first 5 fiscal years use amounts appropriated by Congress for acquisition of petroleum products and revenues from emergency or test sales under section 161. No publicly available information on estimated total costs or appropriations amounts is provided in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.