• Created: Mon 7th Jan 2013
• Erin

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is exploring the issue of whether it is time to lift a decades old federal government restriction on the ability of domestic energy producers to export crude oil.  It’s a tandem question to whether America’s natural gas producers should be allowed more export capacity, but for different reasons. The Nation’s natural gas supplies currently exceed U.S. consumption levels and it can be more easily argured that liquefying our natural gas for shipping won’t reduce the supply needed to fuel our future anticipated needs. On the other hand, we still import approximately 40% of our crude oil supplies and some question whether we should allow even one drop of it to be exported. According to Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources, we are now producing more light, high quality oil than in years past thanks primarily to the Eagle Ford and Bakken shale plays. In recent years, American refiners have spent billions of dollars on upgrades to their facilities to handle sour and heavier grades of crude versus expanded refinery capacity for lighter grades.  As a result, refiners do not appear to be shovel ready for the spending of additional billions of capital for light grade refinery expansions.  In the meantime, U.S. producers, like Mr. Hamm, believe they should have the right to sell this excess supply of light crude directly to foreign countries. Since the major oil companies already export refined petroleum products on a global scale, why shouldn’t our smaller independent energy producers be allowed the same license to sell light crude?  We believe they should be allowed.