WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski again pressed for an end to a 1970s ban on crude oil exports, arguing the United States can prove its mettle with its oil reserves.
Legislation enacted in response to the 1970s oil embargo by Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries bans the export of unprocessed crude oil. With U.S. oil production eclipsing 9 million barrels per day, Murkowski argued ending the ban would be a strategic initiative.
"This is something that is simply in the best interest of the United States, in terms of both our economic strength and our national security," she said in a statement. "The time to legislate on oil exports is now."
Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, introduced a measure in May that seeks to standardize the federal definition and policies regarding condensate, an ultra-light form of crude oil found in some domestic shale deposits.
When last year the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Commerce Department, authorized two U.S. companies, Pioneer Natural Resources and Enterprise Products Partners, to ship so-called condensate from the U.S. market, Murkowski welcomed the step but said U.S. export policies were nonetheless outdated.
Murkowski and Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and John Hoeven, R.-N.D., may insert language in the National Defense Authorization to address the oil export ban. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced amendments to the act, arguing U.S. and NATO allies are vulnerable to the whims of oil producers, and U.S. adversaries, Iran and Russia.
"These amendments would strengthen the strategic hand of the United States in a world that grows more complicated by the day, not to mention more dangerous," he said in a statement.
A report from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service finds some overseas refineries aren't designed to handle the lighter oils from the United States.
Despite some oil leaving the domestic market under various circumstances, the White House has maintained there has been no change in export regulations.
