First US oil export leaves port; marks end to 40-year ban

NuStar Energy and ConocoPhillips (COP) are loading what they believe is the nation’s first exported cargo of domestically-produced light oil since the export ban was lifted on December 18, a press release said December 30.

NuStar’s announcement appears to put its shipment ahead of plans by Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners, which said last week it will load 600,000 barrels of crude onto a tanker in Houston during the first week of 2016.

With US crude oil finally able to be shipped and sold overseas, many investors are wondering what impact the move will have on the wider market and who stands to benefit from the ban’s removal.

NuStar says it has invested heavily in recent years to expand its South Texas Crude Oil Pipeline System to move crude oil from the Eagle Ford Shale play to Corpus Christi. Shale producers have long argued the ban is outdated.

Two Texas-based companies claim to have beaten to the punch another firm from the Lone Star State in being the first to export U.S. oil since the 40-year ban was lifted.

Since prohibition ended the premium has disappeared with West Texas Intermediate, which is the benchmark for what other prices of oil are set in North America, commanding 14 cents per barrel more than what Brent was on Wednesday. The company has a subsidiary that owns a refinery in Switzerland.

The oil crash is giving ship owners a $1 billion windfall. Midwest in four years has shut some oil pipelines and terminals near St. Louis, potentially swelling a glut of crude and extending this year’s price slide.

Information for this article was contributed by Manisha Jha of Bloomberg News.

With first quarter oil demand historically lower than demand in the fourth quarter, the outlook is weak, Kingston told CNBC’s Squawk Box.