Obama shale oil hearing draws criticism

Obama's decision to open a hearing into a shale oil policy that opened two million acres to exploration and possible commercial-scale production has been criticised.

At the hearing, Colorado-based Republicans Doug Lamborn and Scott Tipton slammed the decision to take another look at the policy, claiming that it was unnecessarily stalling the development of oil shale exploration.

"The proper implementation of our environmental and safety regulations already on the books is a far better strategy than adding additional layers of bureaucracy to the process," Mr Tipton told the audience.

However, Jim Spehar, a former Grand Junction mayor and a testifying witness at the hearing, said that he had experienced former boom/bust cycles of shale oil development and insisted that it is essential to ensure past mistake are not repeated.

President Obama has claimed that he is open to the idea of shale oil but has said that it is important that potential production is weighed against environmental degradation.