The US Commerce Department has given the go-ahead to several companies to export crude oil, a big policy change essentially ending a ban in place for the last four decades. At question is whether the end of the ban will mean higher prices at the pump.
Ultra-light oil, often referred to as 'condensate' by the energy industry, will be cleared to be exported abroad, according to a private ruling by the federal government impacting Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Enterprise Product Partners LP, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Currently, the export of crude oil is restricted by the US
government, though the ban has not applied to refined versions
such as gasoline and diesel. The restrictions were put into place
during the 1970s as a direct result of the 1973 oil embargo
imposed by a number of Arab nations. At the time, global oil
prices were spiking upwards, and many Americans were struggling
to simply fill their car’s gas tank.
Exceptions to the crude ban – known officially as the 1975 Energy
Policy and Conservation Act – have been made over the years,
including for crude oil produced in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, oil that
travels through the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, certain fields in
California, and oil shipped to Canada for domestic consumption.
Still, even after all of those exceptions, the amount of crude
being exported by the US amounted to a modest 67,000 barrels per
day in 2011, reported the Washington Post.
At the same time, exports of refined fuels have gone up
regardless of the crude ban, with US refineries shipping gasoline
and diesel at record levels.
There has been mounting pressure from both energy companies and
certain lawmakers such as Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski to
loosen the ban on crude exports, reasoning that it stifles
domestic production.
Other lawmakers, however, argue that the crude export ban buffers
the US from the market’s fluctuations. Sen. Robert Menendez
(D-NJ) argued late last year that efforts to erode the export ban
were focused on larger profits for energy companies, and that
restrictions served to "protect US consumers from volatility
and price spikes."
The latest push to end the export ban comes at a time when the US
is experiencing rapid growth in domestic energy production due to
shale fracking and newer drilling techniques. Regions such as
North Dakota’s Bakken formation and Texas’ Eagle Ford formation
are producing lighter types of crude oil, but are having a
difficult time finding refineries in the US that can process it
into refined fuels for export. That keeps the prices of such
fuels low domestically, and is in turn good business for refiners
who export it abroad with a markup, the Washington Post reported.
The latest move to allow the export of condensate will likely
appease the newer producers in the energy market, while energy
giants such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have also expressed
interest in reworking the crude export ban.
"The world needs the crude," said ConocoPhillips CEO
Ryan Lance in November. "And there are places where we could
export that crude into existing refineries."
The big question left for US consumers is whether the lifting of
the crude ban could lead to higher prices at the pump. Prices in
the midwest of the country, for example, are currently depressed
due to the bottleneck in refining the light crude – but exports
could make that a thing of the past. Analysts are currently
conflicted as to whether allowing exports would increase consumer
prices or simply lower profits for refiners.