The recent sale of more than $100 million in oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Chinese state-owned oil company recently prompted U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) to request a briefing from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
“We must be certain that American resources are not being used by our adversaries as they support Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine,” said Rep. Mace, a member of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee.
The congresswoman joined Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) in seeking details from DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm about the sale of almost a million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to Unipec America, a subsidiary of Sinopec, a company owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
“It’s important for the Oversight Committee to continue to look into concerning behavior surrounding the sale of our strategic petroleum reserves,” Rep. Mace said in a Sept. 1 statement. “Recent reports showing the sale of $100 million of our critical oil assets to a Chinese-owned company are deeply troubling, especially given evidence of China’s support of the Russian war effort.”
In a Sept. 1 letter sent to Granholm, the lawmakers requested that the DOE Secretary provide them with a briefing, as well as related documents to ensure that the Biden administration is properly managing the sale of critical assets from the SPR and not supporting Russia by providing oil to China.
“In light of China’s friendship with Russia having “no limits,” there are serious questions about whether SPR oil is benefiting Russia or companies assisting Russia in the invasion of Ukraine,” Rep. Mace and her colleague wrote. “It would be unacceptable for China to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with oil from the United States.”
In their letter, Rep. Mace and Rep. Comer reiterated a request previously made by Oversight Committee Republicans on May 26 and July 20 for the DOE to provide staff-level briefings on its decision to deplete the SPR.
They also asked Granholm to provide them with related information, including all documents and communications from Jan. 20, 2021 to the present related to the sale of oil from the SPR that could be used to create products or services sold to Russia to fight in Ukraine, and whether any oil could be reallocated from Unipec to any firms bolstering the Russian efforts to invade Ukraine, according to their letter.