US lifts ban on oil exports

United States has lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports, marking a historic shift for the booming US oil industry. Senator Heidi Heitkamp of oil-rich Nork Dakota said that lifting the ban is good for consumers, economy, national and energy security. She also said that by opening up US crude oil to the rest of the world, they will not only provide oil to allies but will also reduce the power of countries like Russia, Venezuela, and volatile regions of the Middle



East.

The ban was first imposed in 1975 as the United States was reeling from the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo. Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had banned oil exports to the United States in retaliation for Washington's support of Israel during the Arab-Israeli war.

With the end of the ban, all 9.2 million barrels produced in the United States a day and the 490.7 million barrels stockpiled commercially are available for export.