Petelo Lini of Swissport Fueling refuels an Allegiant Air plane at McCarran International Airport. Efforts have begun to boost Southern Nevada's fuel supply more than 40 percent. Photo by John Locher.

Efforts to increase Southern Nevada's fuel supply more than 40 percent could include a tank farm near Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Jean, according to a report discussed Tuesday.

A Phoenix-area company says it is interested in building a tank farm that would boost the region's storage capacity and give fuel delivery drivers a second location to fill up before making their rounds in the congested Las Vegas Valley. Fuel is now stored on the north side of the valley.

The proposal is just one of several suggestions outlined for the Clark County Commission on Tuesday as part of an effort to avert a fuel supply crisis that could cause already volatile prices for diesel, gasoline and jet fuel to skyrocket.

"The pipelines that are operating today are approaching their maximum capacity," said Randall Walker, Clark County's director of aviation. "If you get to maximum capacity, you can't deliver any more fuel."

Walker, who was appointed in 2005 to coordinate work of the Blue Ribbon Fuel Commission that reports to the County Commission, said that without more supply, demand would shoot prices skyward in a community of about 1.7 million people that is expected to reach 3 million by 2020.

Upgrades discussed by the commission could increase the current import capacity from 140,000 to 200,000 barrels per day or more. On a peak demand day, Southern Nevadans use about 100,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel. Pipelines from California can now import about 108,000 barrels. The commission would also like to see the region's gasoline and diesel storage capacity increased from the current level.

Jim Kehlet, vice president of business development and marketing for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, which owns pipelines that import fuel from California, estimated Southern Nevada has storage capacity for enough gasoline and diesel to last seven days. Walker estimated 3 1/2 days.

The storage capacity for jet fuel would increase from seven to 10 days if the commission's suggestions come to pass.

Increasing the storage capacity for jet fuel would help McCarran International Airport, the nation's sixth busiest, maintain operations in the event of a supply interruption, airport spokesman Chris Jones said. The number of passengers who go through McCarran annually has doubled since 1993 to more than 46 million in 2006.

"It didn't have the traffic it does today," Jones said of the time the seven-day storage capacity figure was determined. "We figure there needs to be a comparable increase in fuel capacity."

The update on Tuesday included progress reports on pipeline expansions and the proposal for the tank farm at the southern end of the valley.

The commission is interested in keeping track of efforts to increase both import and storage capacity before there are any shortages.

"Phoenix has a very similar problem," said Michael Owens, president of Pacific & Texas Pipeline & Transportation Co., of Tempe, Ariz. "We are running out of fuel and California is going to want to start keeping more and more."

Pacific Texas wants to connect Las Vegas to a pipeline that would reach fuel supplies in the Gulf Coast.

Owens said the pipeline would save fuel consumers in the region $72 million annually by importing cheaper supplies. Construction on a pipeline segment from El Paso, Texas, to Phoenix is already under way, Owens said. The connection to Las Vegas and the proposed tank farm could be in place by 2009, he said. The tank farm would occupy roughly 50 acres and the company wants to work with the county to identify a location to build it, Owens said.

A connection to Phoenix would complement a $388 million pipeline project by Kinder Morgan. That project, scheduled for completion in 2010, includes upgrades to a pipeline system from Colton, Calif., that supplies virtually all of Southern Nevada's current fuel.

"It never hurts to have more than one pipeline," Owens said. "If Colton had an earthquake tomorrow, you guys would lose 90 percent of your fuel."

But Kehlet said the Phoenix connection isn't necessary.

"Then you would have too much pipeline capacity," Kehlet said. "I don't know if there is enough demand for west Texas product to go all the way to Las Vegas."