Opponents say lifting the export ban could raise gasoline prices, an assertion contested by many energy experts and economists since increased United States supplies on world markets could bring global prices down at least a bit. Others, including Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz, say the immediate impact of lifting of ban would be limited since the global oil markets are currently glutted.

“Every American household is saving $700 or more this year from lower fuel prices because refiners are passing on savings to U.S. consumers,” said Jay Hauck, executive director the Crude Coalition, a lobbying group led by several refiners who profit from the low price of domestic oil, which is their principal raw material.

The Obama administration has been tinkering with the ban, and it recently gave oil companies temporary permission to export a limited amount of oil to Mexico. The administration has also allowed the export of a limited amount of extra-light oil, which comes out of the shale fields of Texas and several other states.

The Obama administration has been reluctant to lift the export ban entirely, in part because environmentalists say it would encourage more petroleum development and hydraulic fracturing at a time when the nation should be moving away from fossil fuels to curb climate change.