Sen. Lisa Murkowski today called for lifting the decades-old ban on crude exports.
In a speech to the Brookings Institution, she said the oil boom in North Dakota and elsewhere in the Lower 48 calls for a wholesale review of the energy export rules.
“The regulatory edifice that governs the export of American made energy is antiquated and at times … absurd,” she said.
She says if the country doesn’t act, the light oil flowing from North Dakota will create a glut on the market, while most of the nation’s refineries are set up to handle heavier crude from the Gulf of Mexico.
She’s not proposing comprehensive energy export legislation. She says the executive branch has the authority to change the rules, but she says she can introduce smaller targeted bills if needed.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
