Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act

Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to grant to the President of the United States temporary authority to deal with a national energy crisis involving extraordinary shortages of crude oil and petroleum products or dislocations in their national distribution system. Requires the President to take such actions as are necessary to insure the attainment of the following specific objectives: (1) protection of public health, safety, and welfare, and the national defense; (2) maintenance of all public services; (3) maintenance of all essential agricultural operations including farming, ranching, dairy and fishing activities and services directly related to the cultivation, production, and preservation of food; (4) preservation of an economically sound and competitive petroleum industry, including the competitive viability of the independent producing, refining, marketing, distributing, and petrochemical sectors of that industry; (5) equitable distribution of fuels at equitable prices among all regions and areas of the United States and all classes of consumers; (6) economic efficiency; and (7) minimization of economic distortion, inflexibility, and unnecessary interference with market mechanisms.

Provides that the President shall designate an agency to supervise compliance with the requirements of this Act and to promulgate regulations hereunder. Establishes an Office of Emergency Fuel Allocation to receive complaints from officers of State and local governmental units who cannot obtain supplies of gasoline and fuel oil.

Creates in the Executive Office of the President an Emergency Fuels Allocation Board of five members appointed by the President.

States that policy objectives to be carried out by Presidential directive and Board actions shall include: (1) importation of crude oil and allocation of domestic crude oil; (2) importation of number 2 fuel oil and finished gasoline; (3) a plan for equitably reducing supplies from refiners to marketers if reduction is required; and (4) expansion of domestic refinery capacity.

Directs the Attorney General to assure that independent marketers do not have their supplies cut off.

Requires that not later than ten days after the date of enactment of this Act the Board shall prescribe regulations providing for the mandatory allocation of crude oil and refined petroleum products in amounts and at prices determined under such regulations and in accordance with the objectives set forth in this Act; and that such regulations shall take affect not later than fifteen days after its promulgation.

Directs the President to use his authority under this Act to insure that no petroleum refinery in the United States is involuntarily required to operate at less than its normal full capacity because of the unavailability to said refinery of suitable types of crude oil.

States that in order to achieve the objectives of this Act: (1) any producer or importer of crude petroleum and/or natural gas liquids who produced in the United States and/or imported more than two hundred thousand barrels per day of crude oil and natural gas liquids during the base period shall sell or exchange to nonaffiliated independent refiners or to any other reasonable and appropriate class of refiners established by regulation, in accordance with the objectives and priorities established under this Act, in the aggregate during each quarter during the effective term of this Act a proportion of his domestic production and imports no less than the proportions he sold or exchanged to such refiners during the corresponding quarter of the base period; and (2) all refiners or importers of petroleum products shall sell or exchange to nonaffiliated independent dealers or to any other reasonable and appropriate class of purchasers established by regulation, in accordance with the objectives and priorities established under this Act, in the aggregate in each quarter during the effective term of this Act, a proportion of his refinery production and imports of said products no less than the proportion he sold or exchanged to such dealers during the corresponding quarter of the base period.

Provides that a petroleum refiner or a petroleum distributor shall not deliver or tender for delivery in any quarter to any petroleum distributor or petroleum retailer a smaller quantity of petroleum products than the quantity of such products delivered by him or his predecessor or predecessors during the corresponding quarter in the base period, unless he delivers to each petroleum distributor or petroleum retailer doing business in commerce the same percentage of the total amount as is delivered to all such distributors or retailers in the market area who are supplied by such refiner or distributor.

Provides that a petroleum refiner or a petroleum distributor shall not cancel, fail to renew, or otherwise terminate a franchise unless he furnishes prior notification pursuant to this paragraph to each petroleum distributor or petroleum retailer affected.

Requires that any priority schedule, plan, regulation, or allocation program shall be forwarded to the Attorney General and to the Federal Trade Commission, who shall be given a reasonable opportunity of not less than seven days before such schedule, plan, regulation, or allocation program takes effect to comment as to whether it would tend to create or maintain anticompetitive practices or situations inconsistent with the antitrust laws, and to propose an alternative or alternatives which would avoid or overcome such effects while achieving the purposes of this Act.

Requires that the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall monitor the actions taken pursuant to this Act by the agency designated to administer the provisions thereof and by persons subject to the provisions thereof, and shall report to the President and to the Congress on action taken pursuant thereto, or condition created thereby, which would tend to create or maintain anticompetitive practices or situations inconsistent with the antitrust laws or have a lasting adverse impact upon competition.

Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prepare and transmit to the Congress, not later than thirty days after the enactment of this section, an interim report on the following, and not later than six months after such date: (1) a report on the relationship between the structure, behavior, and operational characteristics of the petroleum industry and the causes of the present shortages of crude oil and refined petroleum products; and (2) a report on petroleum industry practices and trends in the marketing of gasoline and other petroleum products including the use of credit cards, the promotion of second and third brand name products, the terms and conditions of franchise agreements and the protection they afford the franchisee, and the role of the independent retailer.