WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is allowing U.S. companies to sell some oil to Mexico, approving several transactions that fall within the contours of America’s long-standing ban on exporting crude while fueling the broader push to overturn those trade restrictions.
The discrete, case-by-case approvals — which are within the bounds of existing law — do not signal an dismantling of the ban, either at the White House or on Capitol Hill.
But they are a major victory for oil companies that have struggled to keep rigs drilling and workers employed since crude prices started falling last year. They also are a win for lawmakers from both parties who have lobbied the administration to approve oil sales to the Mexican oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex.
The deals approved by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security allow swaps of some light U.S. oil for similar quantities of heavier, lower-quality Mexican crude that is a better fit for many Gulf Coast refineries. Officials didn’t say how much is covered by the approved transactions, and it’s not clear how much capacity Mexico has to refine the American crude.
