How Free Market Reforms Can Transform the American Energy Sector

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Heritage Foundation:

Since Congress lifted the long-standing ban on crude oil exports, U.S. companies are taking advantage and Americans are reaping the benefits. This example shows how free market reforms can transform the energy sector and provide a massive boon to consumers.

In June, CNN reported that the U.S. reached a sevenfold increase in oil exports to countries other than Canada, which was excluded from the ban. In March, much of the non-Canadian exports went to Curacao, the Marshall Islands, Japan, Italy, Israel, and the Netherlands. Including refined petroleum products, the U.S. is now the world’s largest fuel exporter.

This rise in crude oil exports demonstrates the benefits of open markets. Freely trading natural resources provides American businesses with more opportunities and consumers with more choices at lower costs.

Americans will benefit through lower prices, too, as increased supplies reaching the global market will drive down the price at the gas pump. An IHS Inc. study predicts that exporting crude oil will lower gas prices 8 cents a gallon annually and that the exports could add 811,000 new jobs in 2017.