What This Bill Does
This bill changes rules for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (a government stockpile of oil for emergencies). It requires the Secretary of Energy to add restrictions when auctioning this oil so that buyers cannot export it to certain countries and prevents some state-owned companies from buying it.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Energy, companies bidding to buy oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at auction, state-owned entities (companies owned by foreign governments), and countries designated as having religious freedom concerns.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Energy must require that oil sold from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve cannot be exported to countries officially designated as having particular concerns about religious freedom (Sec. 2, paragraph 2).
• When auctioning oil, if the United States has a ban or sanctions against buying oil from certain countries, state-owned entities must certify they have not bought oil from those banned countries within 15 days after the ban or sanctions started (Sec. 2, paragraph 3(A)).
• If the Secretary discovers a state-owned entity participating in an auction has bought oil from a banned country within 15 days after sanctions began, the Secretary cannot sell oil to that company (Sec. 2, paragraph 3(B)).
What Changes
The law governing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is modified to add two new restrictions on who can buy oil and where it can be sent when the government sells it at auction.
Important Definitions
None defined in bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 11
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Secretary
of Energy to stipulate, as a condition on the sale at auction of any
petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that the petro-
leum products not be exported to certain countries, to prohibit such
sales to certain state-owned entities, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023
Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require
the Secretary of Energy to stipulate, as a condition on
the sale at auction of any petroleum products from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that the petroleum prod-
ucts not be exported to certain countries, to prohibit
such sales to certain state-owned entities, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•S 11 IS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Auction For
2
Energy Reserves Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘SAFER Act of
3
2023’’.
4
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF STRATEGIC PETRO-
5
LEUM RESERVE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS TO
6
CERTAIN COUNTRIES AND SALES TO CER-
7
TAIN STATE-OWNED ENTITIES.
8
Section 161(i) of the Energy Policy and Conservation
9
Act (42 U.S.C. 6241(i)) is amended—
10
(1) by striking ‘‘(i) Notwithstanding any other
11
law’’ and inserting the following:
12
‘‘(i) REFINE OR EXCHANGE OUTSIDE THE UNITED
13
STATES.—
14
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
15
provision of law and subject to paragraphs (2) and
16
(3)’’; and
17
(2) by adding at the end the following:
18
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF STRATEGIC
19
PETROLEUM
RESERVE
PETROLEUM
PRODUCTS
TO
20
CERTAIN
COUNTRIES.—Notwithstanding any other
21
provision of law, with respect to the drawdown and
22
sale at auction of any petroleum products from the
23
Reserve under this section after the date of enact-
24
ment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall require,
25
as a condition of the sale, that the petroleum prod-
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•S 11 IS
ucts not be exported to a country that is designated
1
as a country of particular concern for religious free-
2
dom under clause (ii) of section 402(b)(1)(A) of the
3
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
4
U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)).
5
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN
6
STATE-OWNED
ENTITIES.—Notwithstanding
any
7
other provision of law, with respect to the drawdown
8
and sale at auction of any petroleum products from
9
the Reserve under this section after the date of en-
10
actment of this paragraph, if the Secretary deter-
11
mines that, as of the date of the auction, there is
12
in effect a United States ban on, or the imposition
13
of sanctions by the United States with respect to,
14
the purchase of crude oil from 1 or more countries—
15
‘‘(A) to be eligible to bid in the auction, a
16
state-owned entity shall submit to the Secretary
17
a certification that the state-owned entity has
18
not purchased petroleum products from any
19
country subject to such a ban or sanctions later
20
than 15 days after the date on which the ban
21
or sanctions went into effect; and
22
‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that a
23
state-owned entity participating in the auction
24
has purchased crude oil from a country subject
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•S 11 IS
to such a ban or sanctions later than 15 days
1
after the date on which the ban or sanctions
2
went into effect, the Secretary shall not sell pe-
3
troleum products from the Reserve to the state-
4
owned entity under the auction.’’.
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Æ
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