Soaring shale production, expanded pipeline networks in the U.S. Gulf Coast, and rising exports of American crude has made the U.S. benchmark crude price, WTI, a force to be reckoned with in the global oil market. The discount of WTI Crude to the international benchmark Brent Crude has dropped from nearly $20 per barrel in the early 2010s to below $3 a barrel today. Before the U.S. allowed in 2015 crude oil exports to international markets other than Canada, soaring American production during the first shale revolution…
