US Finally Allows Oil Exports after 40 Years

After over 40 years, the US has finally allowed "some" companies to sell lightly treated condensate abroad. Condensate is a form of ultra-light crude.

The Obama administration on Tuesday bowed to months of growing pressure allow exports of most domestic crude, taking two steps expected to unleash a wave of ultra-light shale oil onto global markets.

The Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, which regulates export controls, said it had granted permission to export.  Some two dozen energy companies had asked the agency for clarification on permissible exports earlier this year, but until Dec 30 2014 those requests had been put on indefinite hold.

The BIS also released guidance in the form of frequently asked questions, or FAQs, to explain what kind of oil was generally allowed under the ban, the first effort by the administration to clarify an issue that has caused confusion and consternation in energy markets for more than a year.

Domestic pressure has also grown. Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate have said that unless energy companies can export oil to Asia and Europe, the drilling boom will eventually choke on its own output.

A domestic drilling boom of the past six years has transformed the US into an energy powerhouse, boosting US production by more than 50 per cent and reversing decades of decline.