LyondellBasell exec sees 50% chance of US ending crude export ban

HOUSTON (ICIS)–An executive at LyondellBasell gave the US a 50% chance of lifting its ban on exports of crude oil in the next two years, he said on Wednesday.

Support for ending the ban has increased, to the point that it will likely happen – it is only a matter of when, said Kevin Brown, executive vice president of manufacturing and refining for LyondellBasell. He made his comments during the company’s Investor Day presentation.

If the US does lift the ban, the most likely grades of crude to be exported will be ultralight, Brown said.

US oil production has increased sharply because of the adoption of new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

The oil produced from these methods are light grades. However, US refineries at the nation’s hub in the Gulf Coast are designed to handle heavier grades. As a result, there is concern that the lighter grades could overwhelm the industry’s capacity to refine them.

The ban was enacted in the wake of the OPEC’s oil embargo in the early 1970s.

Earlier in the month, US Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) said she would soon introduce legislation to end the oil-export ban.