Charles and David Koch have been fighting the oil export ban since as early as 1975, when Charles sent a political fundraising letter criticizing the ban. Five years later, the cause was incorporated to David Koch’s 1980 vice presidential platform.
Now, thanks to Koch allies in Congress, new developments could have the ban lifted as early as this week. Charles and David don’t seem likely to get everything they want though, as the compromise legislation will likely also include provisions to boost the renewables industry — a concession the oil billionaires adamantly oppose because it threatens their bottom line.
In interviews, Charles and David make the disingenuous claim that lifting the oil export ban wouldn’t benefit them personally, and that their lobbying efforts are purely ideological. But that’s nonsense and Koch Supply & Trading’s chief information officer, Rob Short, as much as admitted it last week in an interview with Bloomberg Business:
While Koch is seeking to tap growth in China, globally “the trading environment is pretty tough right now,” Short said. “Prices are depressed, regulatory environments are overbearing” and there is less liquidity as banks and other participants exit the market.
The surge in domestic crude supplies from the shale boom has forced Koch, which was a net importer to the U.S., to “recreate” how its desks operate, said Short, who is based in the Wichita office. Shale oil is now displacing supplies that used to be shipped in on VLCCs, the largest class of oil tankers, to the Gulf Coast, he said.
In other words: The export ban, combined with an increased supply of crude oil in the U.S., has domestic oil prices low — a boon for American consumers that has the Kochs, “a net importer to the U.S.,” struggling.
That’s why Charles and David are lobbying to have the oil export ban lifted: doing so would give them a boost, as Short confessed to Bloomberg Business:
Koch Industries has advocated lifting the U.S. ban on crude exports. “Koch Industries in general supports open markets and I think we would like to see no export bans” for U.S. crude oil, Short said. “I know we are looking for opportunities to export.”
Charles and David Koch have been fighting the oil export ban for 40 years. They’ve long claimed their effort is ideologically driven, but there’s no question that their campaign — as with any of their causes — is purely driven by self-interest — and now they’ve got employees admitting as much.