Wouldn’t it be a prudent investment to convert those refineries to handle the light crude? I’m not sure I’d like to see us exporting light crude only to have to import the heavy crude from someplace like Venezuela or the Middle East. And building additional tankers will take years.
Exporting expensive crude while importing cheap crude would mean we produce the same gasoline, produce the same amount of oil and improve the trade balance without spending more money to convert refineries while not getting a gain in production.
Converting the refineries will take years as well.
The immediate answer is to complete Keystone. That would end our imports from Venezuela and severely damage a Russian client which spreads the socialist gospel in south America. End the export law and use our surplus oil to end what’s left of OPEC’s control. The inventory quantities, which is used by traders to jack oil prices, once on the market will be reflected in the world price. That’s the fastest way to restrict cash flow to Russia and the Middle Eastern sponsors of terrorism.
In LNG and oil we have a potential economic big stick that can harm our enemies and kick up economic growth in this country at the same time.
"turning Around" a running refinery (giant machines that never stop) is expensive, time consuming and sometimes dangerous.
Of course, the government could repeal the law that requires American-flagged ships to travel between American ports. It's just another sop to the dying labor unions, anyway.