The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing Jan. 30 to explore “opportunities and challenges” related to lifting the ban on exports of domestically produced crude oil. The debate over crude oil exports heated up last week as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and API President Jack Gerard each gave speeches touting the benefits of allowing producers to freely sell domestic crude abroad. Meanwhile, some independent refiners — most notably Valero Energy Corp. — came out against lifting the ban.