Producers call for end to oil export ban

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Lifting a crude oil export ban will drive prices down at home while increasing U.S. leverage overseas, an adviser advocating on behalf of oil producers said.

FuelFix, an energy blog from the Houston Chronicle, finds 14 major oil producers, from Occidental Petroleum to ConocoPhillips, are behind a formal lobby called Producers for American Crude Oil Exports advocating for an end to a 1970s ban.

George Baker, a lobbyist hired to lead the group, said several studies have shown U.S. leverage could be increased overseas, while consumers would pay less for energy, if the export ban were lifted.

"More than anything else, the formation of PACE reflects growing public awareness of the need to align policies in Washington with the economic opportunities made possible by America's oil abundance," he said in an interview published Thursday.

Graeme Burnett, a senior vice president from refinery owner Delta Air Lines, testified on Capitol Hill early this year that crude oil exports make little sense because some U.S. markets would be forced to import more oil if the ban were erased.

A policy brief from the Council on Foreign Relations finds "a few fortunate oil refineries in the central United States" are the only ones benefiting from export restrictions.

Exports of crude oil are permitted under certain circumstances. The U.S. Energy Information Administration this week said the export of 401,000 barrels of oil per day in July was the highest level in more than 50 years.