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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§8731 Requirements as to Consultation and Approval

Title 10 › Subtitle C — Navy and Marine Corps › PART IV — GENERAL ADMINISTRATION › CHAPTER 869 — NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVES › § 8731

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee must be consulted, and the President must approve, before the government can start legal actions to take property or make certain deals about the naval petroleum reserves. The rule covers five types of transactions: leases; contracts that give use, control, or possession to others (but not routine surface permits, licenses, easements, grazing or rights-of-way); sales of produced petroleum (not royalty oil and gas); conservation or drainage-compensation contracts; and exchanges of land, royalty rights, or money owed to the United States. While production under section 8722(c) is happening, the Secretary must send any new plans or major changes for exploring, developing, or producing the reserves to those two committees. Each plan or big change must include a report from the Attorney General about competition effects. No plan or change can take effect until 60 days after the committees receive it.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §8731

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives must be consulted and the President’s approval must be obtained before any condemnation proceedings may be started under this chapter and before any of the following transactions authorized by this chapter may be effective:
(1)A lease of any part of the naval petroleum reserves.
(2)A contract to alienate from the United States the use, control, or possession of any part of the naval petroleum reserves (except that consultation and Presidential approval are not required in connection with the issuance of permits, licenses, easements, grazing and agricultural leases, rights-of-way, and similar contracts pertaining to use of the surface area of the naval petroleum reserves).
(3)A contract to sell the petroleum (other than royalty oil and gas) produced from any part of the naval petroleum reserves.
(4)A contract for conservation or for compensation for estimated drainage.
(5)An agreement to exchange land, the right to royalty production, or the right to any money due the United States.
(b)(1)During the period of production authorized by section 8722(c) of this title, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives any new plans or substantial amendments to ongoing plans for the exploration, development, and production of the naval petroleum reserves.
(2)All plans or substantial amendments submitted to the Congress pursuant to this section shall contain a report by the Attorney General of the United States with respect to the anticipated effects of such plans or amendments on competition. Such plans or amendments shall not be implemented until sixty days after such plans or amendments have been submitted to such committees.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 743134 U.S.C. 524 (1st proviso of 4th par.).
June 4, 1920, ch. 228 (4th par., 1st proviso, of amended 3d and 4th provisos), 41 Stat. 813;
June 30, 1938, ch. 851, § 1, 52 Stat. 1252;
June 17, 1944, ch. 262, 58 Stat. 282.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232, § 807(d)(5), renumbered section 7431 of this title as this section. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–232, § 809(a), substituted “section 8722(c)” for “section 7422(c)”. 2015—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–92 struck out subsec. (c) which required annual reports relating to naval petroleum reserves. 1999—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1), (c). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted “and the Committee on Armed Services” for “and the Committee on National Security”. 1996—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1), (c). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives” for “Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives”. 1985—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–145 in pars. (1) to (3) substituted “The” for “the” at beginning and periods for the semicolons at end, in par. (4) substituted “A summary” for “a summary” and a period for “; and”, and in par. (5) substituted “Such” for “such”. 1984—Subsecs. (b)(1), (c). Pub. L. 98–525 inserted “of this title” after “section 7422(c)”. 1976—Pub. L. 94–258 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out “or oil shale” in pars. (1) and (2) before “reserves”, struck out “and oil shale” in pars. (2) and (3), before “reserves” substituted “petroleum (other than royalty oil and gas)” for “oil and gas (other than royalty oil and gas), oil shale, and products therefrom” in par. (3), and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1962—Pub. L. 87–796 included oil shale reserves in cls. (1) and (2), inserted provisions in cl. (2) excepting consultation and Presidential approval in connection with issuance of permits, licenses, easements, grazing and agricultural leases, rights-of-way, and similar contracts pertaining to use of surface area of naval petroleum and oil shale reserves, and included oil shale, and products therefrom produced from any part of oil shale reserves.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 8731

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102