Oregon Public Broadcasting

When President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling this week, the proposal fizzled in Oregon.

Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski is adamantly opposed to the idea.

And Hood River Republican Rep. Greg Walden was the only member of the state congressional delegation to say he would vote to lift Congress' offshore drilling ban.

State lawmakers' reaction was more nuanced. Several rural Republicans came out in support of the idea.

Klamath Falls State Senator Doug Whitsett says rural Oregonians are hit harder by the high price of gas.

Sen. Doug Whitsett: “For most of the rural people, it's miles to the grocery store, unfortunately most of our leadership does not seem to understand that you can't just ride a bike to work if you live 20 miles from town. We know there is a 70-year supply of natural gas off the shores of Oregon, so Oregon itself is culpable in limiting that supply.”

Whitsett says Oregon's coast is not likely to hold any crude oil reserves. But he points to several studies that show types of natural gas deposits the state could harvest.