Signals from Washington are getting clear. A new variable – the US crude – may soon be entering and indeed impacting the global crude markets. The US government is reportedly considering doing away with a four-decade-old law that bans the sale and export of American oil abroad. The ban was put in place in reaction to the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. Today the US is producing 10 percent of global crude oil supply, but exports precisely zero barrels because of the ban. Things have definitely changed. Net oil imports have already fallen to about 5 million barrels a day from a peak of almost 13 million barrels in 2006. Some say, the US may altogether stop importing oil by 2037 as abundant domestic crude supplies, including North Dakota’s Bakken field and Texas’ Eagle Ford formation, may push production to the level of consumption, according to the US government. […]