Iran Deal Disadvantages U.S. Oil Producers, IPAA Asserts

“Once oil sanctions on Iran are lifted, today’s deal will soon put America’s oil producers at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace,” said Barry Russell, IPAA president. “As soon as Iran is permitted to export its surplus oil on the world market, why can’t we allow our own companies to do the same with their American-made surplus of crude oil? It’s an action that would lower gasoline prices for American consumers while positioning the United States more powerfully in the international arena. It’s past time to lift the 1970s-era ban on crude exports, which makes no sense for a nation that has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s leading oil producer in 2015. It’s not only good national security policy, it’s good for American energy self-sufficiency.”

Currently, U.S. law prohibits most unprocessed American crude from being sold overseas, but does not limit the sale of refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to foreign buyers. With no opportunity to export their crude oil surpluses to the world marketplace, American producers—companies that have been one of the most significant factors in America’s economic recovery—are forced to sell their product at a significant discount, store their crude supplies, or slow production by laying down rigs and laying off workers.

IPAA and its member companies have made lifting U.S. export restrictions on surplus production a top priority for 2015. Russell has sent a letter to President Obama urging administrative leadership on lifting restrictions. In June he sent a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) in support of his comments on crude exports. IPAA has also voiced its support for legislation authored by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), which seeks to lift the ban.