Jeff Eshelman, the president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), said that the organization supports H.R. 22, the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act. The bill recently advanced from the House and will now be considered by the Senate.
“The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) endorses legislation put forth by House Republicans aimed at reining in the administration’s misuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR was NOT intended to be used as a political tool to bring down gasoline prices as this would only place a band-aid on the overarching situation," Eshelman said. "The long-term solution is to enhance, rather than hinder, America’s leadership in natural gas and oil production. Our true domestic natural gas and oil reserves – from production to pipelines and through the supply chain – are ready to work and Republicans’ legislation puts them and our American allies at the forefront.”
Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) introduced the Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act on Jan. 9. The bill would ban the Department of Energy (DOE) from selling crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China or any entity controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On Jan. 12, members of the House voted 331-97 to advance the legislation.
Between May and October 2022, the U.S. sold more than 40,000 barrels of crude oil to China, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In October, the most recent month for which data is available, the U.S. sold China 10,301 barrels of oil.
Permission to sell oil from the SPR can only be granted by the U.S. president, according to the IPAA. In November 2021, the IPAA described the SPR as "an important national security tool to combat disruptions in the oil market" and condemned using the reserves to offset high gas prices. The IPAA called on policymakers to "oppose all non-emergency sales of oil."
In October, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council (NEC) Director Brian Deese said in a statement that the Biden administration would continue to release oil from the SPR in an effort to drive down gas prices.
"At the president’s direction, the Department of Energy will deliver another 10 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the market next month, continuing the historic releases the president ordered in March. The president will continue to direct SPR releases as appropriate to protect American consumers and promote energy security, and he is directing the secretary of Energy to explore any additional responsible actions to continue increasing domestic production in the immediate term," they said in a statement shared by the White House.
The IPAA was formed in 1929 and represents thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies, according to its website.
