The U.S. will benefit from increased oil production and lower gasoline prices if the government lifts restrictions on crude exports, according to IHS Inc.
The world's largest oil consumer may save an average of $67 billion a year from its import bill as domestic output may rise as much as 949,000 barrels a day in 2016 with the removal of the export ban, the Colorado-based consultant said in a report Thursday.
Such a scenario would support 964,000 additional jobs in 2018, it predicted.
"Making U.S. oil available to global markets would unlock the current supply and refining gridlock," IHS said. "It would lead to a total of $746 billion in additional investment during the study period of 2016 to 2030 and an average of 1.2 million barrels per day more oil production per year."
A 1975 U.S. federal law bans most oil exports, with only shipments of refined products such as gasoline and diesel allowed.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. may potentially drop by 8 cents a gallon each year on average if the export ban is lifted, according to IHS.
This would translate to $265 billion in savings for U.S. motorists during the 2016 to 2030 period.
"The 1970s-era policy restricting crude oil exports — a vestige from a price controls system that ended in 1981 — is a remnant from another time," said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman at IHS. "It doesn't reflect the dramatic turnaround in domestic oil production, led by tight oil, which has reversed the U.S. oil position so significantly."
