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  On Friday, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law  a $1.8 trillion government spending and tax relief bill that included  repealing the four-decade-old export ban, which barred shipments to  countries other than Canada. The Department of Commerce issued an  official notice on Tuesday saying companies no longer need to apply for  licenses to export crude.
  In the coming weeks, companies are likely to "stress test" where  export opportunities will be, said George Baker, executive director of  the Producers for American Crude Oil Exports, which led the successful  lobbying effort in Washington to lift the ban.
  Pressure from oil producers to scrap the restrictions intensified  over recent years, as U.S. crude oil prices plunged to as much as $25 a  barrel below global prices due to a build-up of swelling U.S. shale  production caused by infrastructure bottlenecks as well as the export  ban.
  But that gap has vanished in recent weeks amid growing evidence that  U.S. production has shifted into reverse this year as plummeting prices  caused drilling to dry up, while output overseas is still swelling, with  Iran poised to increase sales as sanctions are lifted next year.
  On Wednesday, U.S. oil futures were trading at a premium to global Brent all the way to June.
  Jacob Dweck, an attorney with law firm Sutherland that represents oil  producers, said some producers and shippers "are interested in flying  the flag of exports ... They want to create the new reality of exports."
  But analysts said even if a handful of companies announce deals in coming weeks, it does not signal a bigger trend.
  "It's universally agreed in the short term that we won't see a flood  of ships leaving for foreign ports because the economics aren't right,"  said Sandy Fielden, director of energy analytics at RBN Energy.