WORLD> America
Bush urges Congress to end offshore oil drill ban
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-19 07:19

Republicans and Bush have repeatedly blamed Democrats for blocking legislation that would open offshore lands and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling.

"Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal, and now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction," Bush said.

Democrats in turn say 80 percent of the oil in the Outer Continental Shelf is in federal lands already open to drilling, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, which hold 107 billion barrels of oil -- equal to 14 years of current U.S. consumption.

"The White House has become a ventriloquist for the oil and gas industry -- repeating the requests of the oil and gas industry that they be allowed to destroy the most pristine areas of our country," Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said.

About 60 percent of Americans support government moves to encourage more oil drilling and refinery construction as a way to combat soaring energy prices -- but the same number also profess to be in favor of conservation, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Republicans, including presidential candidate John McCain who announced his position this week after opposing it in the past, increasingly support lifting the offshore drilling ban.

Barack Obama who is running for president, and fellow Democrats, oppose it over environmental concerns and say such action would have little immediate impact on fuel prices.

Analysts say the chances that Congress will drop its ban during an election year are slim. "Short answer: Don't bet on it," a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co Inc. report said.

Environmental groups have long opposed expanded offshore oil drilling, raising concerns about the dangers to fragile ecosystems as well as a potential for oilspills.

"It's cynical to say that we can drill our way out of this mess," said Athan Manuel, director of lands protection for the Sierra Club. "The solution to $4 gas is not off our coast."

Bush also urged drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, sought an end to the ban on oil shale drilling and proposed measures to speed up federal approval of refinery building permits to help expand refining capacity.

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