Crude exports are regulated under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (1975), the Mineral Leasing Act (1920), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments (1978), and the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act.
Crude is listed as a commodity in "short supply" on the Commerce Control List (CCL) drawn up and enforced by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
A license is required for the export of crude oil to all destinations, including Canada, according to BIS (15 CFR 754.2).
However, exports of refined products and natural gas are not restricted in this way. So the regulations need to distinguish between them and crude - which is not as easy as it sounds, since they all contain mixtures of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in various proportions.
Crude oil is defined as a mixture of hydrocarbons that existed in liquid phase in underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities and which has not been processed through a crude oil distillation tower," according to BIS.
Included are reconstituted crude petroleum, and lease condensate and liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands, gilsonite and oil shale. Drip gases are also included, but topped crude oil, residual oil, and other finished and unfinished oils are excluded (15 CFR 754.2(a)).
Currently, US exports are restricted to crude oil from Alaska’s Cook Inlet and North Slope, certain domestically produced crude oil destined for Canada, shipments to US territories and the potential export of Californian crude oil to Pacific Rim countries. Shell applied for an export license to move Bakken crude to Canada, the company confirmed in October.
http://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/InsightAnalysis/IndustrySolutionPapers/NewCrudesNewMarkets.pdfThe Lewis lines are Nat Gas and not restriced
http://www.lewisenergy.com/download/Oil%20and%20Gas%20Investor%20Article.pdf?inlineHere is a list of all the foreign entry points from the US. None are for crude oil. All are NG
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/gasregulation/analyses/qrsections/pdf/tableerrata.pdf
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