Study: Crude Exports an Economic Win for U.S. Consumers, Workers

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2014 ─ A new study shows that exports of crude oil could create up to 300,000 additional U.S. jobs in 2020 and shave billions off fuel costs for consumers, said API Vice President for Regulatory and Economic Policy Kyle Isakower on a conference call today.

“Consumers are among the first to benefit from free trade, and crude oil is no exception,” said Isakower. “Gasoline costs are tied to a global market, and this study shows that additional exports could help increase supplies, put downward pressure on the prices at the pump, and bring more jobs to America. Access to foreign customers could drive significant investment in U.S. production, helping to strengthen our energy security. Now that the U.S. is poised to become the world’s largest oil producer, the economic case for exports is clear.”

The new report was conducted by ICF International and EnSys Energy. It suggests that if current restrictions on crude exports were lifted:

• The cost of gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel is projected to fall, saving American consumers up to $5.8 billion per year, on average, between 2015 and 2035. Prices could decline as much as 3.8 cents per gallon in 2017, dropping as much as 2.3 cents per gallon, on average, from 2015 to 2035. 
• The U.S. economy could gain up to 300,000 additional jobs in 2020. 
•  America’s trade deficit could fall by $22 billion in 2020. 
• The economy could grow by as much as $38 billion in 2020, with an average GDP increase of up to $27 billion annually through 2035.
• U.S. federal, state, and local government revenues could rise by as much as $13.5 billion in 2020.
• U.S. oil production could increase by as much as 500,000 barrels per day in 2020.
• Up to an additional $70 billion is projected to be invested in U.S. exploration, development, and production between 2015 and 2020.
• U.S. refiners could process, on average, an additional 100,000 barrels of oil per day due to more efficient distribution of heavy and light crudes over the 2015 to 2035 period.

“This is a new era for American energy, but our energy trade policies are stuck in the 1970s,” said Isakower. “The U.S. and China are the only major oil producers in the world that don’t export a significant amount of crude. It’s time unlock the benefits of trade for U.S. consumers and further strengthen our position as a global energy superpower.”

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 580 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 20 million Americans.

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The Projected Impacts of U.S. Crude Oil Exports

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