Posted on 10/29/2015 6:46:57 AM PDT by thackney
In the early 1970s the United States was an oil superpower. Our fields produced over 9 million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d), accounting for more than 15% of the global marketplace. However, our energy consumption at the time still required us to import oil from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations.
During the Yom Kippur war in 1973 the U.S. supplied arms to our ally and friend, Israel. In retaliation, the Arab members of OPEC placed an embargo on the sale of crude oil to the U.S. and the price for a barrel of oil quadrupled from $3 to $12, creating a broad energy and economic crisis. Families were hard-hit as they coped with long lines to purchase gas, and the economy stagnated. The OPEC embargo was lifted in March of the following year, but decisions made in the aftermath of the crisis are still shaping our nation’s energy policy more than four decades later.
One result was a ban on crude oil exports, implemented in 1975 as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The ban was meant to reduce or eliminate our reliance on imported crude oil from the Persian Gulf and to protect against another oil crisis. That ban remains on the books today.
Lifting the oil export-ban would create a 1% rise in GDP
But 40 years later, the dynamics of the American oil industry have changed—as have the relevant political concerns. The export ban is outdated and fails to account for America’s new and expanding energy industry. Domestic crude production has increased dramatically in the past few years: from 5.3 million bbl/d in 2009 to 8.7 million bbl/d today. This has been paralleled by a huge increase in natural gas production due to advances in hydraulic fracturing...
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
The Curse of Carter lives on.
Obama doesn’t want us to be a powerhouse at anything.
I believe we just swapped some light petrol with Mexico for heavier crude that goes through the Houston refineries better. I think I read it last week in the WSJ.
Yes, the Feds finally approved 75,000 BPD swaps with Mexico. We will import their heavy crude and swap it with our light. More than just Houston, many of the Gulf Coast Refineries are optimized for heavy, sour crude. The heavy crude also has more BTU’s per barrel.
Mexico’s Pemex Gets U.S. Crude Swap License for 75,000 Barrels a Day
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mexicos-pemex-gets-u-s-crude-swap-license-for-75-000-barrels-a-day-1446043056
With the light U.S. crude, Pemex said it would increase output of gasoline and diesel and reduce production of fuel oil, increasing its margins. It will also lower the costs of exporting fuel oil from refineries in central Mexico while importing motor fuels.
Alejandro Martinez, who heads Pemex’s industrial division including refining and petrochemicals, said in a conference call with analysts that in addition to raising the value of output, the agreement will have environmental advantages by producing cleaner fuels. “This is great news for us,” he said.
In the first eight months of this year, Mexico imported more than half of the 785,000 barrels a day of gasoline used in the country.
Gerald Ford actually, based upon the works Nixon had started.
http://www.ibtimes.com/why-us-bans-crude-oil-exports-brief-history-1562689
One more gift from the (now) second worst president ever... Jimmuh Carter.
I remember gas-lines, and only being able to buy on alternate days. (depending on if your license plate had an odd or even number)
Started with Nixon, affirmed by Ford.
Dumb is not limited to Democrats. Big Government Republicans can cause plenty of harm on their own.
Thank you for the link and the correction.
Do you think it’s time to relax the ban? Or not?
Absolutely the ban should go.
The feds should not try to pick winners and losers in the market.
>> The feds should not try to pick winners and losers in the market.
Agree, and that applies to any and all of the market.
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