Oil companies have not yet been able to explain the benefits of lifting restrictions on oil exports, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told lobbyists at the CERAWeek conference: "They have not been able to clearly and convincingly prove it." The main supporters of export liberalization (permission for deliveries is now required) are the largest oil and gas companies, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips. They complain that export restrictions weaken their positions, since competitors can sell Brent crude at higher prices - about $6 more than WTI. The largest global traders are also in favor of lifting the restrictions.

Moniz advised oil companies to prove that the decision would create undeniable advantages for the United States, which still imports about 5 million barrels of oil per day. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. oil production was 8.08 million barrels per day this week. The EIA is ready to analyze how oil exports could affect the global and domestic oil markets, as well as the country's manufacturing industry, said Adam Siemiński, the head of the agency.

Moniz did not give gas exporters hope either. In 2011, the Obama administration lifted some restrictions on liquefied natural gas exports, but deliveries to countries with which there is no free trade agreement require permission from the Commerce Department. Since 2011, the Energy Department has approved six applications to build LNG export terminals, and another 20 or so are under consideration. Business insists that further liberalization of the trade regime is needed in the context of the shale gas boom. The decision will be made by the Commerce Department, Moniz replied: the Energy Department does not issue licenses.

The main question for the oil and gas market - the assessment of events in Ukraine - Moniz carefully avoided. Ukraine is in a terrible situation, he noted, the US government is doing everything to help this country. Meanwhile, American politicians are already raising the issue of the need to allow oil and gas exports to ensure supplies to Europe and reduce its energy dependence on Russia. "We should not force our allies to continue to depend on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for their energy needs," John Boehner, the Republican leader in the US House of Representatives, said on Tuesday. Currently, according to Citi, 31% of gas imports and 27% of oil in the EU come from Russia.

According to Senator Lisa Murkowski, the United States should use resources as a strategic asset to protect allies and resolve crises: the more oil and gas the United States supplies to the global market, the more it will help stabilize oil prices. Nigerian Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is convinced that American crude oil exports can change the mechanism for price formation on the world market.

Exports remain under lock and key