§ 6234 — Strategic Petroleum Reserve

(a) A Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the storage of up to 1 billion barrels of petroleum products shall be created pursuant to this part. (b) The Secretary, in accordance with this part, shall exercise authority over the development, operation, and maintenance of the Reserve. (c) (1) The drawdown and distribution of petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is authorized only under section 6241 of this title, and drawdown and distribution of petroleum products for purposes other than those described in section 6241 of this title shall be prohibited. (2) In the Secretary’s annual budget submission, the Secretary shall request funds for acquisition, transportation, and injection of petroleum products for storage in the Reserve. If no requests for funds are made, the Secretary shall provide a written explanation of the reason therefore.