The Dickinson Press is reporting:
The United States could give Europe and Ukraine relief from energy
dependence on Russia within months if it overturned the 40-year ban on
most U.S. crude oil exports, the head of energy company Hess Corp. said
on Thursday.
“There’s something we can do today to help our allies now, and that’s
give the green light to crude exports,” Chief Executive Officer John
Hess said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a
Washington-based think tank.
He estimated that Europe and Ukraine could get relief from volatile oil prices in 90 days if the ban was overturned.
Concern about Europe’s dependence on Russian energy has risen after
President Vladimir Putin’s government annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Europe
gets 30 percent of its crude oil supply from Russia, and has been
hesitant to impose sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. In
addition, Russia has hiked prices for natural gas it sells to Ukraine.
U.S.
exports of natural gas could also help diversify energy supplies in
Europe, but not substantially for about four years as billions of
dollars worth of infrastructure needs to be built before shipments can
start.
Nice op-ed, but the argument won't go anywhere. Whether or not it's logistically possible, it's not politically possible.
