U.S. crude oil exports have been surging—and President Donald Trump is crediting his first five months in office.
On Tuesday, the White House released a statement outling the ways in which the Trump administration has been removing “unnecessary and burdensome roadblocks that would have prevented the United States from achieving energy dominance.”
The press release cites the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, abandoning the Clean Power Plan and fast tracking approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline, among ten other actions that have “unleashe[d] America’s energy potential.”
Yet a new report released the same day by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tells a different story, at least when it comes to oil exports.
Daily exports of U.S. crude oil have more than doubled since 2010, going from 2.4 million barrels per day to 5.2 million barrels per day in 2016, according to the EIA. The report notes that restrictions on exporting domestically-produced oil were lifted in December 2015.
Other factors at play, say the researchers, include “favorable price differentials, lower shipping costs, and rising domestic production.”