Easing the U.S. export ban on crude oil may result in slightly higher gasoline prices, but the benefits would outweigh the costs, Bill Richardson said Monday.
The former U.S. energy secretary and two-term New Mexico governor made his comments after Reuters reported on Friday that the Obama administration will allow limited sales of U.S. crude to Mexico for the first time.
The Commerce Department indicated it would approve applications to export lighter, high-quality shale oil in exchange for imported Mexican heavy crude. Such swaps are one of several possible exemptions allowed in the four-decade-old law that otherwise bans most overseas shipments.
Read More US approves landmark crude oil export swaps with Mexico
But American refiners warned the swaps may lead to higher U.S. gasoline prices because they will have to pay more for U.S. crude and pass on the higher costs to consumers.
Jose Manuel Carrera, CEO of Pemex’s commercial arm PMI Comercio Internacional, said the oil swap could bring up to 100,000 barrels per day of light U.S. crude to Mexico’s domestic refineries, boosting gasoline output, in exchange for Mexican heavy crude.
However, the benefit in terms of U.S. jobs and the continuation of America’s shale revolution would offset higher gasoline prices, Richardson said.
“The price may go up a little bit, but at the same time, prices for gasoline, home heating oil, they’ve gone down a bit,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “If we continue with these oil export wavers, it’s going to be good for the country.”