By Gulbin Yildirim and Ovunc Kutlu
WASHINGTON
After gaining a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. elections on Tuesday, the Republican Party will have a crucial role in lifting the ban on oil exports, say experts.
"Policies on energy are symbolically important for the Republicans," said Stan Veuger, a political economist at Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.
According to energy experts, the Republicans are generally more favorable than the Democrats towards lifting the 40-year-old ban against oil exports, which came into play in the 1970s after the Arab oil embargo put the oil-dependent U.S. economy in a difficult position.
Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska and the ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has been one of the strongest advocates of removing the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, as she voiced her concerns many times in Washington, including in a report in July.
"Senator Murkowski will probably chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said Veuger.
The report named ‘A Ban for One: The Outdated Prohibition on U.S. Oil Exports in Global Context’ stated that by lifting the de facto ban on crude exports, the U.S. would strengthen its trading ties, improve its economy's efficiency and enhance its position in the globe.
However, the Obama administration has not taken any steps towards removing the ban on crude oil exports since it took office in 2008, and some experts think that cooperation between the Republicans and the Democrats remains unlikely.
"Lifting the ban on oil exports will create hard debates between the Democrats and the Republicans," said Tim Boersma, the acting director in the Energy Security Initiative at Washington-based Brookings Institute.
"The possibility of cooperation between the White House and the Congress seems low," Boersma added.
Although President Barack Obama has not used any of his executive powers towards lifting the ban yet, the U.S. Department of Commerce has granted licenses for two American companies in Texas to export condensate oil overseas in June.
U.S. President Barack Obama is entering his last two years in the White House, while the question remains as to whether he will take any steps to cooperate with the Republicans in the House and the Senate to take any action on lifting the ban.
"I do not expect any major shifts in U.S. energy policies until the presidential election in 2016," Boersma said.
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