Report: Most oil, gas beneath public lands off-limits

BILLINGS, MONT. -- A new report from the Bush administration says most of the oil and more than 40% of the natural gas beneath public lands in the United States are off-limits to drilling.

Rolling back environmental safeguards and employing new drilling technologies would give energy companies access to 19 billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, administration officials said Wednesday.

"If we want to lower the cost of energy, we must be willing to use our own energy resources as part of a balanced and rational energy policy," said Assistant Secretary of Interior Stephen Allred.

But the report drew sharp criticism from a leading member of Congress for oversimplifying the nation's energy woes.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall pointed out that the amount of drilling on federal lands has increased steadily since 2000 -- even as gas prices rose. He said the Interior report gives the "absolutely false impression" that more drilling equates to cheaper energy prices for consumers.

"We simply cannot drill our way to lower prices at the pump," Rahall said.

Wednesday's report sharply ratcheted up prior estimates of restrictions on oil and gas compared to past federal inventories. In 2003, a study concentrating on Western states indicated almost 80% of oil and gas reserves in the region was open to development.