Crude oil export ban: Outdated energy policy, inconsistent foreign policy?

By former Rep. Michael Andrews (D-Texas)

The ban on the export of domestic crude oil dates back to a time when members of Congress did not have computers and Richard Nixon was president. Much has changed in the past 40 years. Today, that antiquated law is severely restricting the nation’s energy policy and damaging the integrity of American foreign policy. In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) instituted an oil embargo as a result of the involvement of the United States in arming Israel during the Yom Kipper War.

 

 At the time, America was the largest oil consumer in the world and was heavily reliant on oil imports. The Arab embargo, coupled with dramatic drops in the U.S. stock market and a steady decline in domestic oil production, had an enormous and disastrous economic impact on the American economy. The Congress responded by
banning the export of domestically produced crude oil without a license.  The purpose of this new energy policy of was to protect domestic oil reserves and reduce the dependence on foreign oil.

 

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