STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 4 February 2014

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22. EXCLUSIVE-U.S. opens taps, a bit, on oil exports to Europe

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/usa-energy-exports-idINL2N0L41Z320140204

Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has authorized limited crude oil exports to Europe, for the first time in years, raising new questions about how companies are testing the limits of a controversial, decades-old exports ban.

The Department of Commerce has granted two licenses to export U.S. crude to the UK since last year and another two to Italy, according to data Reuters obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

One application for German exports was filed in January and is awaiting a decision by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which is responsible for reviewing requests to export crude under a 1975 law that bans most shipments with a few exceptions, including sales to Canada and re-export of foreign oil.

These are the first permits for shipments to the UK since at least 2000 and the first to any European country since 2008, according to data from the BIS. The bureau has approved 120 licenses since January 2013, nearly 90 percent of which were for sales to Canada, the data show.