Environmental groups including the Sierra Club opposed ending the crude-export limits, saying that any increase in oil output would exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions.
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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich favored the bill and the oil export ban being lifted with the additional policies that would encourage renewable energy.
Oil producers, rig owners, drill-bit manufacturers and oilfield service providers around the world have been canceling exploration projects, reducing budgets and firing hundreds of thousands of workers to cope with the worst price slump in a generation. Heidi Heitkamp (D., N.D.), who has been one of the most vocal supporters of lifting the ban, which Congress first put in place in the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo.
“I think in the long-term, it should mean better prices for Wyoming operators”, he said.
Due to a global glut in oil supplies, lifting the ban is not expected to lead to significant US export shipments for months or even years, but it could give crude producers the increased flexibility they coveted. “It will keep the price of gasoline lower at the pump for consumers because of more supply, and it will bolster national security through energy security”.
“The petroleum sector has been an enormous contributor to North Dakota’s economy and employment base for decades, leading to lower tax rates for residents and lifting salaries and income across the board”, said Ness.
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce said in a news release that voting to end the ban on crude oil exports is a victory for New Mexico and the economy.
Hoeven said lifting the ban is supported by studies at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the non-partisan Brookings Institute and the Harvard Business School.
An overhaul to Total’s Port Arthur refinery finished in 2011 was also tailored to the heavy, sour crude oil varieties.
Commissioner Christi Craddick said, “Lifting the antiquated US crude oil export ban will be monumental for Texas oil producers long-term and an important tool for our country overall”.
“The winners in all of this are the USA oil producers who now have a bigger market for their shale” output, said Gianna Bern, founder of Brookshire Advisory and Research in Chicago and a former BP PLC oil trader.
Crude oil exports will benefit the US energy industry. Some 491,000 barrels per day of crude were allowed to be exported from Alaska and California to Canada for domestic use, and imported crude could be re-exported.
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“We have so much oil that when prices rise, production will grow and we’ll be able to export more of it”, Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources Co., said Friday in an interview. The White House signaled Wednesday it would support the legislation, which includes tax incentives for wind and solar energy.
