The United States consumed about 7.5 billion barrels of oil in 2006, 60 percent of which was imported, the study says. Federal lands produced about 5 percent of the 2006 consumption.

Allred called the report a starting to point for discussion that could lead Congress to loosen drilling restrictions on public lands.

"We're not talking about ignoring environmental or other issues," he said. "This allows us to talk about if we're better able now than in the 1980s to protect those important values and still develop oil and natural gas."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Energy and Water, said the report reaffirms what many people already know.

"If we are serious about reducing the price of gas at the pump, we don't do it by relying on more foreign oil," he said. "We do it by opening up our own capacities in an environmentally responsible manner without harming our public lands."

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said the report clearly shows domestic energy is available.

"It is unconscionable that American presidents have to go to Saudi Arabia and beg for more oil. We have been blessed with abundant resources, and we can extract them and use them wisely and safely," he said.

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Contributing: Associated Press.

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