Lifting Oil Export Ban Could Cost State Jobs, Sen. Murray Warns

Lifting the Alaskan oil export ban would eliminate thousands of jobs in Washington state, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray says.

If Congress lifts the ban, Alaska’s economy would grow and the Port of Tacoma’s shipping lines and supporting maritime enterprises would increase business and add jobs.

The port is Alaska’s economic gateway, handling 80 percent of all its waterborne shipping.

But the effect of lifting the ban is more complex and has a serious downside, the Seattle Democrat said on Thursday.

She disagrees with those who say lifting the ban will be good for Washington. Murray has introduced a bill in the Senate to maintain the export restriction.

She opposes lifting the ban because the state economy would suffer from job losses at oil refineries and from higher gasoline prices, she said.

Smaller oil refineries that depend on lower-cost Alaska crude could be in trouble when Alaskan oil is sold on the world market at higher prices, she said.

Those facilities include the U.S. Oil refinery and Sound Refining in Tacoma and Tosco Northwest in Ferndale, she said.

“It will be tough for them to compete at open-market prices,” she said. “They could shut down with a loss in jobs.”

Higher crude prices and fewer refineries means Washington consumers will pay more for gasoline, she said.

Sound Refining wouldn’t comment except to say that lifting the ban could increase its costs. U.S. Oil didn’t return telephone calls.

Paul Oves, spokesman for Tosco, said his company is concerned about being squeezed by higher oil prices if the export ban is lifted.

“There will be less capital available for us and potentially, less jobs,” he said. Tosco employs 300 workers at its Whatcom County refinery, he said. But Arco and Texaco spokesmen said their refineries would continue to run in Bellingham and Anacortes. They too, depend on Alaska crude and together employ more than 850-1,200 workers in the state.

“There’s no certainty that the (oil) price will fluctuate,” said Texaco’s Lee Reagin. There are oil fields coming in north of the Japanese islands and in China. That new supply could stabilize Alaska oil prices, he said.

World oil markets aren’t that predictable and prices could drop as well as rise depending on circumstances, he said.

“Market factors will determine what will happen” if the export ban is lifted, said Al Greenstein of Arco.

Texaco would obtain alternate sources of oil if necessary, he said. The Anacortes refinery processes 90 percent Alaska oil and 10 percent Alberta crude, Reagin said.

Shari Gross, Alaska trade consultant to the Port of Tacoma, said Alaskan oil actually available for export is about 200 million barrels per day, or less than 10 percent of the 2.2 billion barrels a day that is now routed to the U.S. market.