Washington, 18 May 2010

The U.S. Interior Secretary said on Tuesday offshore drilling was vital to meet the country's energy needs just as lawmakers pushed forward with efforts to make big oil companies fully liable for oil spills. In Capitol Hill hearings four weeks after a drilling rig exploded and caused a massive oil spill deep in the Gulf of Mexico, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said offshore drilling was still a necessary part of U.S. energy policy.

Salazar said about 30% of U.S. oil production comes from the Gulf of Mexico, where the rig leased by energy giant BP Plc exploded on April 20, killing 11 people and spewing vast amounts of crude into the ocean.

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