NDPC Vice President Kari Cutting to appear before U.S. House Committee on Agriculture to Urge Repeal of Crude Export Ban

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Washington, D.C. – Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) will appear before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8, to urge lawmakers to lift the ban on exporting crude oil and to highlight the positive economic impacts oil and gas development has had on rural communities, especially in North Dakota.

“In 2006, horizontal drilling technology unlocked the Bakken, resulting in a surge of oil and gas production, making North Dakota equivalent to the nineteenth largest oil producing country,” says Cutting. “With development came a rural economic renaissance for our state. Once shrinking rural communities are now growing, as new people move to the state and others return home to be closer to family. Oil development has helped supplement incomes for many local farmers and ranchers who once worried about holding on to the family farm. A new diesel refinery that recently began operating and proposed fertilizer plants and other value-added projects will help further lower input costs for ag producers further helping rural growth.”

“But this rural renaissance is being threatened by foreign entities not always friendly to the United States and by restrictions imposed on the sale of oil abroad. The U.S. government should lift the ban on crude oil exports and allow oil produced in places like North Dakota to reach global markets. Lifting the ban on crude oil exports would immediately restore our competitiveness and revive the renaissance in rural America.  Not only would rural America prosper, but all U.S. citizens would benefit from lifting the ban.”

The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern time in the Longworth House Office Building. The hearing may be viewed live at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearing/full-committee-agriculture-public-hearing-energy-and-rural-economy-economic-impact-exporting#. Cutting’s prepared testimony for the hearing is attached.

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Since 1952, the Petroleum Council has been the primary voice of the oil and gas industry in North Dakota. The Petroleum Council represents more than 525 companies involved in all aspects of the oil and gas industry, including oil and gas production, refining, pipeline, mineral leasing, consulting, legal work, and oil field service activities in North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Rocky Mountain Region. For more information, go to www.ndoil.org.

Media Contact:
Tessa Sandstrom
Communications Manager
ND Petroleum Council
701.223.6380
tsandstrom@ndoil.org

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