OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2015. This week ExxonMobil and several other refiners with large American operations – BP, Chevron, and Shell – wrote to the leadership of the House and Senate energy committees to make the case for free trade in energy.

I encourage you to read the letter, because it offers a good distillation of the issues involved.

Sometimes the media describe the debate over crude oil exports as one pitting American refiners against producers (typical example here).

Of course, it’s true that a few domestic refiners oppose lifting the current ban on exports while the larger oil majors favor unfettered trade for energy products.

But the cartoonish presentation of two sides of an important debate ignores the fact that companies like ExxonMobil are refiners, too – refiners that strongly support free trade for American crude oil.

Interestingly, ExxonMobil, with feet in both camps in this debate as both a refiner and a producer, actually refines more crude oil in the United States than we produce domestically.

Why is that important to mention?

To make clear we understand that supporting free trade trumps supporting protectionist policies that may benefit our bottom line.

The current ban does create a gap between what the world pays for oil and what American refiners pay domestically. Because we refine more than we produce in the U.S., our company actually might derive a monetary benefit from keeping the export ban in place, much the same way a number of smaller American refiners now do.

But we still advocate free trade for energy products like crude oil and natural gas, even if it costs us in the short term.

That’s because we think long term, and the long-term interests of the United States – and the global economy – are best served by free trade.  After all, what’s good for America – a robust and open economy – is good for everyone in the end.

History is absolutely clear: Free trade benefits all rather than a narrow few. That’s why we support it. Ultimately free trade in energy will lead to more investments in U.S. energy production, more jobs, and a stronger economy for years to come.