U.S. Commands Higher Prices for Crude Amid Growing Global Oil Market Influence

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…