regional petroleum reserve

regional petroleum reserve Sec. 157. (a) The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a Regional Petroleum Reserve in, or readily accessible to, each Federal Energy Administration Region, as defined in title 10, Code of Federal Regulations in effect on November 1, 1975, in which imports of residual fuel oil or any refined petroleum product, during the 24-month period preceding the date of computation, equal more than 20 percent of demand for such oil or product in such regions during such period, as determined by the Administrator. Such volume shall be computed annually. (b) To implement the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan, the Administrator shall accumulate and maintain in or near any such Federal Energy Administration Region described in subsection (a), a Regional Petroleum Reserve containing volumes of such oil or product, described in subsection (a), at a level adequate to provide substantial protection against an interruption or reduction in imports of such oil or product to such region, except that the level of any such Regional Petroleum Reserve shall not exceed the aggregate volume of imports of such oil or product into such region during the period of the 3 consecutive months, during the 24-month period specified in subsection 89 STAT. 886(a), in which average monthly import levels were the highest, as determined by the Administrator. Such volume shall be computed annually. (c) The Administrator may place in storage crude oil, residual fuel oil, or any refined petroleum product in substitution for all or part of the volume of residual fuel oil or any refined petroleum product stored in any Regional Petroleum Reserve pursuant to the provisions of this section if he finds that such substitution (1) is necessary or desirable for purposes of economy, efficiency, or for other reasons, and (2) may be made without delaying or otherwise adversely affecting the fulfillment of the purpose of the Regional Petroleum Reserve.