US producers call for the export ban to be lifted

Outdated rules stop US producers from exporting crude oil to most countries - exporters believe a change is overdue

As weak domestic oil prices squeeze their margins, the US’ producers are looking abroad – and hoping Congress at last lifts the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports.US crude reserves in storage have risen 11.5% in the last year, if the US strategic petroleum reserve is included, while overall production is edging lower, reflecting the inability of the domestic market fully to absorb output generated by the recent shale boom. At present that extra oil cannot be exported as crude to most countries, thanks to legislation introduced in the 1970s at a time when the US was becoming increasingly reliant on imports to meet domestic oil demand and an Arab oil embargo was threatening supply. Expor