White House opposes legislative efforts to erase oil export ban

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Efforts to reverse a 40-year-old ban on domestic crude oil exports through legislative action are not welcome, a White House spokesman said.

Congressional leaders are working to pass a massive government funding bill before Friday, when lawmakers break for holiday recess. Included in the measure is language meant to end a ban on U.S. crude oil exports.

Similar efforts to reverse the ban have been met with a veto threat from U.S. President Barack Obama. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration continues to stand against legislative efforts to erase the ban.

"Our position on that is firm -- we oppose it," he said during his regular briefing with reporters Tuesday.

The ban was enacted in the 1970s in response to an export embargo to the United States enforced by Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. With U.S. oil production now rivaling that of Saudi Arabia, supporters of lifting the ban said U.S. policy should be updated to reflect the new energy landscape.

Detractors argue it would lead to more hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling practice behind the increase in shale oil production, and potentially lead to more crude oil carried on North American rail systems. The increase in oil production is more than the current network of pipelines can handle, forcing energy companies to use rail to take up the slack. A string of fatal rail accidents in recent years involved trains carrying crude oil.

As crude oil prices reach six-year lows, a report from the Congressional Budget Office finds authorizing U.S. crude oil exports could increase the price of U.S. crude oil by around $2.50 per barrel during a period ending in 2025. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service, however, found some overseas refineries aren't designed to handle the lighter oils from the United States.

Earnest said past legislative efforts to lift the ban were moot because those decisions rest with the Commerce Department, which already sanctioned some exports of an ultra-light form of oil called condensates.