WASHINGTON (March 18, 2015) – A new survey released today by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers counters a main argument pushed by oil companies and their allies in Congress to lift the crude oil export ban. The survey shows that the majority of U.S. refining capacity is ready to refine more than 730,000 additional barrels of light crude extracted from shale formations in the United States. Supporters of lifting the ban have claimed that U.S. refiners cannot handle the additional supplies, but this survey contradicts that argument. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a hearing on overturning the ban tomorrow.

 

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who opposes lifting the ban, released the following statement:

 

“One of the oil companies’ major arguments to overturn the decades-old ban on sending U.S. oil to foreign nations apparently needs more refining. That’s because the men and women who process America’s oil say they are ready and willing to handle our growing oil production. If we were to lift the export ban, we would send those U.S. refining jobs overseas along with our oil. This report and the continued economic and national security advantages of keeping our oil here highlights why Congress should not change longstanding U.S. law to allow America’s oil to be sent around the world.

 

“The more the American people learn about the impacts of lifting the crude oil export ban, the more they will oppose it. That’s because the oil industry’s push to lift the export ban isn’t about helping consumers at the pump, it’s about pumping up their own profits.”