The United Steelworkers (USW) union said today it opposes lifting the U.S. ban on crude oil exports. USW echoed the concerns of some refiners who oppose lifting the ban, saying that doing so would render some refineries inoperable due to higher oil prices, resulting in job losses.
“Lifting the ban would benefit oil companies that engage in oil exploration and production, but it would harm their refining operations that have to purchase crude at the market price,” USW International President Leo W. Gerard said in a press release. “It also would hurt independent refiners that do not engage in oil exploration.”
USW noted that lower crude oil prices due to increased domestic production kept Philadelphia Energy Solutions from shutting down in 2012, when Sunoco owned the refinery.