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July 2, 2018

U.S. Crude Exports Hit Record High: Why It Matters

Three years ago, the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) and its allies at the Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA) argued for the end of the United States’ ban on exports of crude oil. With the support of stakeholders like MSCI and EEIA, Congress ended the ban in December 2015.

Today, U.S. crude exports are at a record high. The Energy Information Administration reported last week that exports of crude surged to an average of three million barrels per day (mbd) during the week that ended June 22. As Axios explained, “The record signals how the U.S. has become an increasingly powerful force in global crude oil markets as domestic production, already at record levels, inches closer to reaching 11 mbd.”

This increase has created thousands of jobs in the United States and, as EEIA explained in 2015, the end to the ban on exports of crude oil also had important national security implications for the United States. In a 2015 statement, EEIA argued, “Availability of high-quality, low-cost supplies from the U.S. will now give our allies and friends a secure and reliable source of energy, providing a welcome alternative to crude oil from Russia, Iran and other countries unfriendly to Western interests.”

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