Senators unveil bipartisan measure banning Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to China, Russia, Iran: the Hill

Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced a bipartisan measure that would ban the export or sale of oil from the United States’s oil reserves to China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Syria and Cuba, the Hill reports.

The measure, the Banning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act, would also prohibit the sale of oil from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to “any entity owned, controlled or influenced” by the Chinese Communist Party, the newspaper adds.

“Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant to protect the energy security of America and our allies,” Fetterman said in a statement. “Our adversaries should not be able to purchase oil from our SPR — that’s just common sense.”

Ernst said it is “essential” to safeguard the country’s oil supply from “benefitting our enemies.” The bill would work to ensure that the SPR “does not fall into the hands of those trying to harm us,” he added.

A bill that similarly aimed to ban sales from the country’s oil reserves to China was passed by the House in January 2023. The House also approved a package of six spending bills earlier this month that included provisions to prevent the sale of oil in the SPR to China, according to the Hill.