House Votes to Lift 40-Year Ban on Oil Exports

[GMDino]

How...wonderful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/business/energy-environment/house-votes-to-lift-40-year-ban-on-oil-exports.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Quote:The House of Representatives voted on Friday to reverse a 40-year-old ban on oil exports, giving major oil companies a political victory at a time when they are suffering from lower oil prices and falling profits.

The House vote of 261-159 included 26 Democrats in favor of the legislation. But even though the legislation has gained momentum in recent weeks, it continues to face a major challenge in the Senate as well as the threat of a White House veto.

Still, the House vote makes it more likely that the export ban, which was enacted in the 1970s when the American economy was threatened by international oil embargoes and falling domestic production, will become an important issue in the presidential election campaign.

Jack N. Gerard, chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute, praised the bill as a job creator. “American producers would be able to compete on a level playing field with countries like Iran and Russia, providing security to our allies and accelerating the energy revolution that has revitalized our economy,” he said.

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Oil Prices: What’s Behind the Drop? Simple Economics
Opponents say lifting the export ban could raise gasoline prices, an assertion contested by many energy experts and economists since increased United States supplies on world markets could bring global prices down at least a bit. Others, including Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz, say the immediate impact of lifting of ban would be limited since the global oil markets are currently glutted.

“Every American household is saving $700 or more this year from lower fuel prices because refiners are passing on savings to U.S. consumers,” said Jay Hauck, executive director the Crude Coalition, a lobbying group led by several refiners who profit from the low price of domestic oil, which is their principal raw material.

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Graphic: How the U.S. and OPEC Drive Oil Prices
The Obama administration has been tinkering with the ban, and it recently gave oil companies temporary permission to export a limited amount of oil to Mexico. The administration has also allowed the export of a limited amount of extra-light oil, which comes out of the shale fields of Texas and several other states.

The Obama administration has been reluctant to lift the export ban entirely, in part because environmentalists say it would encourage more petroleum development and hydraulic fracturing at a time when the nation should be moving away from fossil fuels to curb climate change.

The debate has been spurred by nearly a doubling of domestic oil production over the last five years, reducing imports and expanding inventory reserves across the country. But production is now suddenly dropping, and oil producers have been forced to cut tens of thousands of jobs.

[Rotobeast]

(10-11-2015, 03:05 PM)GMDino Wrote: How...wonderful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/business/energy-environment/house-votes-to-lift-40-year-ban-on-oil-exports.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

I really don't like the idea of lifting the ban.
There should be a rider attached to guarantee our reserves. 

[mallorian69]

If the oil comes from private land then I have no problem with it. If it comes from a lease on public land then it should never leave this country.

[StLucieBengal]

(10-11-2015, 04:08 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: I really don't like the idea of lifting the ban.
There should be a rider attached to guarantee our reserves. 

Agree here, reserves should be sustained. I am in favor of exporting any above that however.

[Benton]

Oh, and it's worse.

Quote:While the $2 minimum bid for federally auctioned oil and gas leases is only the starting price, about 40 percent of existing leases were sold at that level. Further, annual rental fees for onshore oil and gas leases – $1.50 per acre during the first five years and $2 per acre each year thereafter – allow drilling companies to hold and explore mineral leases for the price of a cup of coffee.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/16/oil-companies-are-drilling-on-public-land-for-the-price-of-a-cup-of-coffee-heres-why-that-should-change/

That's part of the reason oil companies want to drill here — it's cheap compared to some other countries. And from what I've read, there aren't a lot of projections on how much of it will be exported, but it will be a small drop in a big barrel. Which means there won't be much impact on the price we pay.