[sammyg2]

It does not matter where it goes. Even if it goes to china it displaces a purchase they otherwise would have made. It affects the available pool of oil and affects the price, no matter who buys it. Eco 101.

There's another factor: government revenue. Oil leases are expensive. Real expensive. The government gets that lease money.
They also get a tax on every barrel produced. Then they get to tax the crap out of the oil company when they sell it, provided they do it on US property.