IPAA: Iran deal a disadvantage to America’s oil producers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President Barry Russell released the following statement Tuesday after the Obama Administration secured an agreement with Iran, which includes provisions that will soon lift global sanctions on Iranian oil sales:
“Once oil sanctions on Iran are lifted, today’s deal will soon put America’s oil producers at a competitive disadvantage on the global marketplace. As soon as Iran is permitted to export its surplus oil on the world market, why can’t we allow our own companies to do the same with their American-made surplus of crude oil? It’s an action that would lower gasoline prices for American consumers while positioning the United States more powerfully in the international energy arena. It’s past time to lift the 1970s-era ban on crude exports, which makes no sense for a nation that has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s leading oil producer in 2015. It’s not only good national security policy, it’s good for American energy self-sufficiency.”
Media reports surfaced last week claiming Iran intends to double its crude oil exports soon after sanctions are lifted, which could lead to approximately one million new barrels of Iranian oil per day entering the world market, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
Currently, U.S. law prohibits most unprocessed American crude from being sold overseas, but does not limit the sale of refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to foreign buyers. With no opportunity to export their crude oil surpluses to the world marketplace, American producers -- companies that have been one of the most significant factors in America’s economic recovery -- are forced to sell their product at a significant discount, store their crude supplies, or slow production by laying down rigs and laying off American workers -- the effects of which the U.S. economy is already starting to see.
IPAA and its member companies have made lifting the export restrictions on the United States’ surplus of crude oil a top priority for 2015. Last week, IPAA President Barry Russell sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging further administrative leadership on lifting outdated restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports. In June, Russell sent a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) in support of his recent comments on U.S. crude oil exports. IPAA also voiced its support for legislation authored by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), which seeks to lift the outdated ban on oil exports.
