09.01.15

Hoeven Statement on Today's EIA Report Showing Benefits to Lifting the Ban on U.S. Oil Exports

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Energy Committee, today issued the following statement in response to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) regarding the implications of eliminating the U.S. ban on crude oil exports:

“The Energy Information Administration has issued a new report building on its previous reports confirming the benefits to the United States, consumers and businesses that would result from lifting the decades-old crude oil export ban. The study concludes that lifting the ban will reduce the discount for light sweet crude oil produced in states like North Dakota and Texas and encourage investment in domestic energy production. Additionally, oil exports will help to increase the global supply of crude oil, which will lower the price of gasoline and other fuels, putting more money in consumers’ pockets.

“The EIA has done a good and thorough job of studying this issue from multiple perspectives and illustrates what other independent studies have found regarding consumer prices and the economic benefits to our country. We will continue working to lift the crude oil export ban because it will be good for our country.”

Hoeven and the Senate Energy Committee recently approved the Offshore Production and National Security (OPENS) Act, which lifts the ban on the export of crude oil. This legislation is similar to the Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015, which Hoeven helped introduce with Senate Energy Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in May. Hoeven said lifting the ban is supported by studies at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the non-partisan Brookings Institute and the Harvard Business School.

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