Rural US communities generally have benefited from the nation’s crude oil production renaissance, and potentially could be helped more if restrictions on exports of crude were eliminated, witnesses told a US House Agriculture Committee hearing on July 8. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David J. Porter called the crude export ban “a leftover relic from another period of time.” Allowing more US-produced oil to be sold overseas would spur domestic production, foster economic growth, and provide direct benefits to rural America and the nation as a whole, Porter said in his written testimony. “The export ban is more than just an outdated policy,” he maintained. “Keeping it in place is actually harming our economy.” When crude prices recently dropped, Texas felt harsh economic impacts as thousands of production workers were laid off and rigs were idled, he told the committee. The number of drilling permits the commission issued fell from […]