Upton eyes hearings on Interior's offshore drilling reversal

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Tuesday he might hold hearings on the Interior Department's five-year offshore oil-and-gas drilling plan that critics call too restrictive.

Interior announced last month that its 2012-2017 offshore program would not include the sale of oil-and-gas leases off the Atlantic Coast or more widely in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The decision — a retreat from plans to greatly expand leasing rolled out before the BP oil spill — drew attacks from the oil industry, as well as many Republicans and pro-drilling Democrats.

High-profile hearings before the Energy and Commerce Committee would provide Republicans another platform to attack White House energy policies they allege are harmful to the economy.

Incoming House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) has also said he will put Interior drilling policies under the microscope this year. His panel has primary jurisdiction over energy development in federal lands and waters.

Upton told reporters about the potential hearings on the sidelines of an event hosted by the American Petroleum Institute, which on Tuesday laid out its 2011 energy agenda.

API President Jack Gerard in a speech renewed his attacks on the offshore leasing plan and on delays in allowing oil companies to drill in icy waters off Alaska’s coast. He alleged Interior’s policy "sends job creation elsewhere ... and it closes the door on economic growth."

Gerard also bashed the “slow pace of permitting” in areas where exploration and production are already allowed.

In the remarks to reporters, Upton also said he would be “sitting down" in the coming weeks to decide when he will hold the first hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Upton also raised concerns about rising gas prices.