U.S. Looks at Dropping Crude-Oil Export Ban

The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House is entertaining the idea of relaxing policy surrounding crude-oil exports. Federal laws currently ban the export of crude oil, and changing that policy would overturn rules that have been in place for decades. According to the Journal, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said that discussions surrounding the law have been prompted by the difficulty of refining rapidly expanding domestic crude supplies.

As quoted in the publication:

At an energy conference in December sponsored by Platts, Mr. Moniz responded only broadly to a question about relaxing or lifting the oil-export ban: “There are a lot of issues in the energy space that deserve some new analysis and examination in the context of what is now an energy world that is no longer like the 1970s.” Benchmark U.S. oil prices climbed in the hours after Mr. Moniz’s comments and settled up 1.1% Tuesday at $101.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since April 24.

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal article.