Oil producers in the United States are not allowed to export oil.  It was a policy started back in the 70s with the energy crisis.  I imagine that it accomplished its stated purpose at the time, it probably protected the American public from high gas prices.  We didn’t have enough oil for our own needs, so shipping it abroad didn’t make much sense.  Now we have plenty, or pretty close to it, and we’re looking at being able to bring a whole lot more to the surface.  Exporting oil shouldn’t hurt gas prices, and according to this article over at the Council on Foreign Relations, it might even help gas prices.  That statement didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either at first, but the article makes a pretty good case.  Regardless, we need to be able to ship our oil abroad.