New U.S. oil export accord receives mixed opinions

What seemed impossible just a few months back now only seems improbable.

As Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson criticized the nation’s “archaic rules for energy export” at the time of the fifth Republican debate in Las Vegas, Congress lawmakers in the nation’s capital struck an agreement to withdraw the nation’s 40-year long ban on the export of crude oil in exchange for renewing tax credits for solar and wind energy and environmental measures.

The apparent accord was part of a broad act over a $1.1 trillion expenses bill —which will finance the government up to September 2016 — and a separate initiative reviving the expired tax breaks.

Coming less than four days after a U.N. agreement to fight climate change — one that encourages nations to shift from the use of fossil fuels, which causes heat-trapping carbon emissions, to renewable alternatives such as the wind and solar — its reaction received a mixed response Wednesday morning.

“This accord holds significant wins for the environment,” President of Natural Resources Defense Council Rhea Suh said in a statement, admiring provisions that would boost funds for the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Interior Department, plus eradicate GOP riders that would have marred a series of dialogue and climate measures.

“But, the major disappointment in the agreement is the withdrawing of the ban on the export of U.S. crude oil,” he added.

Some Republicans, on the other hand, said they were satisfied. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, whose state is the largest oil producer in the country and who has long voiced the need for an end to the export ban, stated that the agreement will serve as a shot in the arm to the slow economy.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that Obama would veto any individual measure for ending the oil export ban.

With benchmark Brent and West Texas Intermediate prices for oil hovering above $100 per barrel just 17 months back, the argument found far less focus relatively, outside of energy forums and policy wonks.

But then, last summer, prices started falling. The trend has continued, and prices are now stuck below $40— especially as OPEC keeps its production unrelenting and Iran sets to bring its oil back onto the global market once sanctions are withdrawn next year. U.S. oil dealers have stepped up their campaign for exporting American crude. Permitting exports, they argue, would open rewarding foreign markets to the U.S. oil companies, especially Asia, where prices of oil are higher.

Some chemical companies and many refineries have opposed lifting the ban. They’ve got advantages from buying U.S. crude at a discount, and the number of U.S. exports of the refined products has more than doubled since 2007.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which also represents refineries, said the organization was still functioning on a statement Wednesday. The U.S. Petroleum Institute, which represents both refiners and producers, said it would comment after the final text of the accord is released.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, however, informed that it was happy with the deal.

“By extending tax credit of the solar investment for five years,” CEO Rhone Resch said in a statement, “members in both Houses have reestablished the U.S. as the global leader in clean energy, which will augment our economy and create many jobs across the U.S.”

Democrats reportedly won’t officially announce whether they’re in support until they receive the agreement’s final text. The terms must be passed by both the House and the Senate and eventually signed by President Barack Obama.