ANKARA

More than two-thirds of Americans want the U.S. government to allow exports of crude oil, a survey released by the Producers for American Crude Oil Exports revealed in a statement Wednesday. 

According to a national survey, conducted by U.S.-based consultancy firm FTI Consulting, 69 percent of American voters support U.S. oil producers in exporting crude oil to countries which are trading partners with the U.S. 

In addition, 76 percent of voters believe that lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports would have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. 

"This survey demonstrates that the U.S.' economy and consumers would benefit and America’s strategic position in the world would be strengthened," said George Baker, executive director of PACE in the statement. 

According to the survey, 73 percent of the participants said that lifting the export ban would strengthen the U.S.' strategic position in the globe, while 59 percent stated that the U.S. trade deficit would get smaller. 

For the world's biggest crude oil and oil products importer, the U.S. crude oil imports fell 21.4 percent in six years, decreasing to 7.7 million barrels per day in 2013, from 9.8 million barrels per day in 2008, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration data. 

During 2014, crude oil imports fell from 7.6 million barrels per day in January to 7.1 million barrels per day in October, Joint Organizations Data Initiative figures show. 

PACE members include U.S. oil giants like Chesapeake Energy, ConocoPhillips, Enaca, Noble Energy, Apache, Hess and Marathon Oil.