The 40-year ban on oil exports is starting to crack without Congress or the Obama administration lifting a finger. On Tuesday evening, just as election results were starting to come in, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal reported that BHP Billiton, the giant Anglo-Australian mining and energy company, would soon sell oil from Texas to foreign buyers without getting permission from the US government. According to the Journal, Billiton says it has agreed to sell about 650,000 barrels of ultralight sweet oil from Texas to undisclosed buyers in a deal worth about $50 million. It's not clear what, if anything, the Obama administration, or Congress, for that matter, can do to stop them. As Washington is caught in a post-midterm election haze, with Republicans celebrating their gains and Democrats licking their wounds, Billiton's move seems well-timed to go unnoticed.