U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today furthered her efforts to end the current ban on U.S. crude oil exports by releasing a report on the potential benefits to the Great Lakes region if the United States allowed domestic crude oil exports. The report is the first in a series entitled In the National Interest: U.S. Oil Exports and the Great Lakes Region.

“The benefits of lifting the ban on oil exports extend far beyond the traditional oil-producing states,” Murkowski said. “Every region of the nation, including the states around the Great Lakes, stand to gain from the economic growth, job creation and government revenue, that would come from modernizing our export policies – all without raising gasoline prices.”

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is currently marking up energy legislation, including Chairman Murkowski’s Offshore Production and Energizing National Security Act, which would fully repeal the general prohibition on exporting oil.