Oil exports

The controversy over the Keystone pipeline is so convoluted it has become nonsense. First off there are currently three pipelines going to the US from the Alberta oil sands and one line going to the west cost of Canada with a second line under construction. They are currently selling all of their production and if the Keystone is not built it will just mean more going to the west coast. In the 1970’s the US banned the export of oil because of shortages in the domestic market and that law has not been changed. The US is now producing oil in such large amounts that they could export and put our balance of payments in a better position while waiting for the laws to be updated. Until that time the US is sending the new found oil to the refineries in the south where it is changed into gasoline and diesel and then shipped overseas since there is no ban on refined products. The arguments about the increase in CO2 from this oil are not valid since it is all used either here or overseas and we only have one earth. If the pipeline is approved the oil will be sent to refineries in the US and those products will be shipped to foreign markets. If the pipeline is not approved the oil will be shipped to western Canada and then overseas. If the law against exporting oil is rescinded the oil will be imported from Canada and exported overseas. One temporary advantage to building the pipeline is that it will provide jobs while under construction. Not long ago the US refineries were updated to use the heavy crude that they expected as the supplies ran out. The new oil is light and not easily refined in these plants so it is building up as reserves waiting for the law to change so it can be exported. We currently export gasoline out of the Gulf Coast refineries while we are importing gasoline from Europe to the East Coast market because shipping cost are less. In time this will change and we will be using US gasoline on the East Coast. The US currently exports 3.5 million barrels of petroleum products every week. As the US oil production grows it will export more and that will put downward pressure the world price which will benefit everyone. At the same time natural gas is replacing oil in many areas primarily in home heating which releases more oil for export. As oil exports grow many places like China will replace coal with oil which will reduce the problems associated with climate change. The move across the globe will be from coal to oil to natural gas. This results in cleaner less expensive energy for everyone.