Critical Mass

摘要

Will a growing chorus both within and outside the US be enough to lift the crude export ban currendy in place? The US House of Representatives is currendy debating a bill mat would lift the ban, and the House Agriculture Committee also convened a hearing on July 8 to debate the bill and attempt to quantify what impact lifting the ban would have on US farmers. Speaking before the Agriculture Committee Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm said overturning the ban would spur further oil and gas development within the US which could be a further boon to farmers who have already received large financial sums as landowners and mineral rights holders from drilling firms. A number of lawmakers have argued against the bill for fear that lifting the ban could lead to higher prices at the pump, but the General Accountability Office summarized recentry-authored reports from the Brookings Institution and Columbia Univ. that have concluded that lifting the ban would actually result in US fuel prices falling on average by anywhere from 1.5-13.0￠/gal. Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said the expected drop in fuel prices from would be a further boost for farmers in the form of lower diesel prices.