Texas rep. pushes for oil, gas drilling in national parks

Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) told an oil and natural gas industry meeting Tuesday that he wants to loosen federal rules on drilling, including allowing some oil and gas exploration in national parks.

Olson said drilling could be safe and preserve the value of national parks, Platts reported.

Texas has been able to foster a strong oil and gas production industry in part because it does not have much federally controlled land, Olson said.

Drilling is allowed in some national park areas in Texas and Florida because the operations predated the national park designations, Platts said.

Olson warned that the Obama administration is trying to further limit oil and gas drilling by expanding restrictions to state and private lands, according to Platts. That would be harmful to the industry, and the government should instead open more areas for drilling, he said.