BHP Plans To Export First U.S. Condensate Without Formal Ruling: Reports

(RTTNews) - Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AX, BLT.L, BBL, BHP) plans to export lightly processed ultra-light U.S. oil, and thus become the first company to ship the fuel abroad without formal permission from federal regulators, reports said.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg said, quoting a person familiar with the trade, that the company sold a cargo after deciding that it is a processed product fit for export and without a direct ruling from the U.S. Commerce Department. The company plans to export condensate from Texas's Eagle Ford formation.

A four-decade-old law prohibits most oil from leaving U.S., and policy makers are under pressure to lift the ban on crude exports as production is on the increase with high-level drilling activity in shale formations.

This year, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) received rulings from the Commerce Department allowing them to send the lightly-processed oil overseas.

The stock is down 0.7 percent on the ASX at A$33.78.