This bill prevents the U.S. Department of Energy from selling oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China or to Chinese companies. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a huge stockpile of crude oil that the government keeps stored underground as an emergency backup for times when oil supplies are disrupted or prices spike dramatically. Right now, the government can sell oil from this reserve to help manage energy markets, but this bill would block any sales to China or to companies controlled by the Chinese government. Additionally, even if oil from the reserve is sold to other buyers, those buyers would be required to promise they won't export that oil to China. Essentially, this is about keeping America's emergency oil supply out of Chinese hands, treating it as a strategic asset that should only benefit the U.S. and its allies.

Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act

McMorris Rodgers, Cathy

Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act This bill prohibits the sale and export of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Energy (DOE) from selling petroleum products (e.g., crude oil) from the SPR to any entity that is under the ownership, control, or influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Further, DOE must require as a condition of any sale of crude oil from the SPR that the oil not be exported to China.