Exxon calls for end to oil export ban

Exxon Mobil is calling for the U.S. to repeal restrictions on exporting domestic oil, The Wall Street Journal reports.

{mosads}The Texas-based company forecasts decades of abundant supplies of petroleum in the U.S. with increasing global demand for oil, according to its annual energy outlook to be released on Thursday.

“We are not dealing with an era of scarcity, we are dealing with a situation of abundance,” Ken Cohen, Exxon’s vice president of public and government affairs, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

“We need to rethink the regulatory scheme and the statutory scheme on the books.”

Exxon went on to say that it anticipates 65 percent of the world’s crude could be untapped by 2040.

But the increasing amount of oil and gas in the U.S. could become a challenge for Exxon, as booming production pushes domestic prices lower.

To compensate, Exxon is demanding an end to the country’s ban on most crude exports.

Consumers, however, may not agree, as exporting crude could result in higher U.S. fuel prices.