After decades of falling domestic oil production, by 2014-2015 output was surging in the United States. The reason? Technological changes in producing crude oil and natural gas from shale (hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling) turned America into a big fuel producer. With the production of America's crude oil and natural gas surging, a national debate emerged: Should the United States repeal its 1970s era ban on exports of these energies? The ban eliminated most avenues for U.S. oil exports; less than 2 percent of the oil produced in the United States is sold outside its borders. The ban was adopted as part of a series of laws passed after the 1973 Arab oil embargo and the Iranian Revolution in 1978-1979. 

At that time, the United States was concerned about shortages of oil and possible supply disruptions as a threat to its security. The export ban was meant to increase America's oil independence and ensure that foreign powers could not bring the United States to its knees by denying access to energy. It was also intended to prevent American producers from skirting government price ceilings by selling crude oil into the world market at higher prices. By 2015, however, economic conditions had dramatically changed. Many analysts felt that the ban on oil exports no longer reflected the dramatic turnaround in U.S. oil production. Thus, calls have been made to have the export ban lifted.
The mismatch between increasing U.S. oil production from shale and the country's ability to refine it is what has driven the debate over whether to eliminate the ban on crude exports. Producing oil from shale yields very light oil (a lower density and lower sulfur variety) that is not well connected to the infrastructure of American refineries that process it; they are geared to process heavy crude oil coming from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. Should the abundant, light crude oil be exported? Supporters of exports maintain that allowing American oil to flow onto the global market will provide incentives to produce more oil, because the fuel would command higher prices than it would in the United States.

It will also reduce America's trade deficit and pump more money into the U.S. economy. Moreover, allowing U.S. producers new export markets for their oil could, over time, drive down the price of gas for Americans. Why? Adding U.S. crude oil to the world market would increase supply and thus reduce global oil prices. Because America's gasoline is priced off global gasoline prices, rather than domestic crude prices, the decrease will flow back into reduced prices at the pump.
However, opponents of exports contend that isn't the case. Removing the export restriction, they say, will drive up prices of oil and gas for American industries that depend on them. This will discourage innovation among energy firms and harm the environment. Also, the recent oil boom has resulted in surplus quantities of crude oil, which help insulate the U.S. economy from the uncertainty caused by oil supply disruptions abroad. The allowing of crude exports would eliminate that protection. Finally, some American refiners oppose lifting the export ban, saying that they can make the investments needed to change configurations to allow for greater processing of light crudes. However, it would likely take considerable time and much investment to make this conversion. In December 2015, nearly 40 years to the day after the oil export ban was enacted by then-president Gerald Ford, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation lifting the prohibition. This was a victory for the U.S. oil industry, which lobbied for over two years to end the ban.

What do you think? Oil is a vital resource for the United States. Do you feel that American oil companies should be allowed to export oil to foreign markets?