14-January-2014

Andrew Wheeler, a principal of the energy and environment practice group at FaegreBD Consulting, recently contributed to an "Energy Insiders" segment in the National Journal on a debate taking hold in Washington, D.C. on whether a federal ban that restricts the export of crude oil should be lifted. The ban dates back to 1973 when the nation was faced with high oil prices resulting from an OPEC led oil embargo.

Wheeler argued that with newly-accessible fuel reserves in states like North Dakota and Texas, the U.S. is again a major player in the world energy market. "Our new role as a major producer and exporter of natural gas has given the United States a higher degree of global influence as a growing energy producer that we lacked until very recently," Wheeler wrote in a blog posted on the National Journal's website. Wheeler added that environmental concerns on opening up the U.S. crude market are unfounded, "While critics may point to environmental concerns with drilling or that we still import oil, they ignore the fact that our drilling techniques are the cleanest and safest in the world and that we cannot easily refine all of the types of crude we produce," Wheeler said.

Wheeler closed by saying that times have changed and that the policy should be updated to reflect the new reality of the nation's energy producing capabilities. "We can bury our heads in the sand and base decisions on 1970's technologies and geopolitics, or we can wake up and deal with the issue in today's world of increased U.S. production and reserves and new technologies."