Moreover, what good does it do to export oil if it keeps the supply down and the prices up in the US?
Logistics... whoever has the oil source nearest, wins the bidding.
Re: “What good does it do to export oil if it keeps the supply down and the prices up in the US?”
Sorry, I disagree.
When the USA exports oil, it just means that the specific oil in a specific geographic location can be exported at a higher price (most likely to Europe) than it can be sold in the USA.
The oil we import - mostly from Mexico and western Canada - is cheaper than the oil we export, primarily because of transportation costs and proximity to local USA markets.
“Moreover, what good does it do to export oil if it keeps the supply down and the prices up in the US?”
It doesn’t “keep the supply down”. Just the opposite.
The price of oil has little to do with supply/demand and much more to do with the supply/demand and value of the dollar...
... the dollar has been tanking vs. the Euro since late 2016.
THAT’S why oil prices are “up”.
(real oil prices don’t change that much, but the value of the dollar does.)
If tomorrow we went back on the gold standard, oil prices would tank.