A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House of Representatives recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him not to ban the export of oil from the United States.
The lawmakers were concerned that the White House might reinstate a ban on the export of domestic crude oil as a way to lower gas prices that have been on the rise in the U.S. in recent weeks. The letter was sent Dec. 9, World Oil reports.
Jennifer Granholm, President Biden’s energy secretary, said Tuesday that the Biden administration was not considering a crude export ban.
“I heard you loud and clear and so has the White House," Granholm said in a virtual address to executives at an international oil-industry conference in Houston. "We wanted to put that rumor to rest.”
The letter sent to President Biden was initiated by Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat. He and other signatories shared concerns of some analysts, who have said banning oil exports could actually raise prices rather than alleviate them.
“Any suggestion that reinstating the crude export ban would lower gasoline prices is misguided, due to the likely spike in international crude prices, which many U.S. refineries process,” the group stated in the letter.
The letter was signed by Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela, (both D-TX), Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Reps. August Pfluger, Roger Williams, Tony Gonzales (all R-TX), Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV), the Midland Reporter-Telegraph reports.
The Midland Reporter-Telegram reports the letter also stated that banning oil exports could strain international relations and discourage domestic production.
“This is something that we’re very concerned about and something we’re raising to the highest levels of our government,” Mike Sommers, the chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday at the conference. “I think we’re making great progress with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to communicate this.”
Granholm, in her remarks, acknowledged many in the oil industry are wary of the Biden administration's clean-energy initiatives. She sought to reassure them that the administration is encouraging increased domestic production of gas and oil while working to form a partnership with the industry to find "forward-facing solutions" to climate change, World Oil reports.
“I firmly believe those that embrace the change rather than fighting it will be rewarded on the other side," Granholm said.