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The latest US funding legislation set to be debated by Congress will include a provision preventing China from purchasing oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The potential ban comes after it was revealed that sales from the SPR included transactions with Chinese companies.
In 2022, the SPR sold 1 million barrels to UNIPEC America, a subsidiary of China’s Sinopec, and in 2017, sales were also made to PetroChina International under former President Donald Trump’s administration.

This, coupled with a move by President Biden to release 180 million barrels from the SPR to stabilize gasoline prices (following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), has resulted in significantly depleted reserves (close to a 40-year low) holding roughly 360 million barrels of oil.
Another view:
Senator Chris Murphy has expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of banning SPR exports to China, suggesting it might do more harm than good, despite the ban’s intent to address national security concerns.