01.26.23

Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Sale of Oil from SPR to China

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) helped introduce legislation, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to:

  • • Prohibit the sale of American crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to any company under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.
  • • Prohibit the export of any crude oil from the SPR to China. 

“It makes no sense to drain our strategic petroleum reserves, benefitting an adversary like China, when we could bring down prices for consumers and strengthen our energy independence by producing more U.S. oil in regions like the Bakken,” said Hoeven. “This legislation comes as part of our broader efforts to push back on the Biden administration’s harmful Green New Deal agenda, unlock our taxpayer-owned energy resources and make the U.S. energy secure once again.”

The legislation comes in response to the Biden administration releasing more than 250 million barrels of oil from the SPR, which was created to store oil in the event of an emergency or natural disaster that disrupts oil and gas production. As a result of the administration’s action, the SPR is at its lowest level since the early 1980s, while Chinese controlled companies have successfully purchased at auction two million barrels, despite having one of the world’s largest stockpiles of oil. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed similar legislation by a widely bipartisan vote of 331-97.

In addition to Hoeven and Cruz, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) The full text of the legislation can be read here.

 

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