ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance

ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance told policymakers attending a briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that the nation's approaching surplus production of crude oil offers an opportunity for expanded global trade through exports. The United States could sustain the job creation and economic stimulation powered by the U.S. energy renaissance, while putting downward pressure on consumer fuel prices and improving global energy security.

He pointed out that although a ready market exists for such exports, the federal government must first remove a ban written into the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which was enacted during a time of energy shortages and gasoline lines. The act prohibited crude oil exports. Currently only a few exceptions are allowed, including small amounts of oil sent to Canada and oil exported from Alaska.

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