Crude oil swaps may be a realistic short-term alternative to outright repeal of the US crude export ban for US refiners as well as producers, a speaker suggested at a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum. Federal approval for swaps with Canada and Mexico are easier to obtain because they are immediately adjacent countries, said Martin Tallett, president and founder of EnSys Energy in Lexington, Mass. Mexico’s government recently announced it would seek a second swap of its heavy Mayan crude for light tight US oil, he noted. “Getting rid of that light crude enables medium and heavy crudes to come in—a sort of swap trade without major refining investments,” Tallett said. US refiners might be more ready to make long-term investments in light tight crude processing capacity if they could get at least 20-year discounts from US producers, he added. While Europe also […]