U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today advanced her efforts to end the current prohibition on most U.S. crude oil exports in a report entitled “Rendering Vital Assistance: Allowing Oil Shipments to U.S. Allies.”

 
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“Lifting the ban will bring an array of benefits to our nation: more jobs, more revenues, more production, more security, and more diplomatic leverage on the international stage. You don’t have to take my word for that; you can also look at the growing list of experts and studies that agree with my analysis,” Murkowski said. “The report further develops an argument I’ve been making: that even while Congress works to remove the export ban, the administration already has authority, explicitly delegated to it by Congress, to allow for greater oil exports.”

The report, released Tuesday by Murkowski at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on energy accountability and reform legislation, provides background on the outdated export ban and outlines the benefits lifting the ban would have on our nation as well as our allies.

“Many U.S. allies and trading partners are interested in purchasing American oil to diversify away from Russia, Iran and other problematic sources,” Murkowski writes in the paper. “Allowing such shipments would send a powerful signal of support and reliability at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions in much of the world. The mere option to purchase U.S. oil would enhance the energy security of countries such as Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Japan, and South Korea, even if physical shipments did not occur.”

Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has long supported ending the outdated ban on crude oil exports. Today’s hearing examined S. 1312, the Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015, authored by Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. S.1312 would authorize the export of all forms of crude oil and condensate produced in the United States.