"If you're going to drill in deepwater, you've got to prove that you can actually contain an underwater spill," he said. "That's just common sense."
Obama's address comes almost a year after he announced he would allow expanded oil and natural-gas drilling off the East Coast as part of a plan to increase domestic production while also encouraging conservation and developing alternatives.
The administration dropped its plan for expanded drilling after the oil spill at BP Plc's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst in U.S. history. A moratorium on deep-water drilling was lifted in October, with tougher safety, inspection and environmental-protection rules required for permits.
Drilling Permits
Since tougher standards were put in effect, the administration has approved 39 new shallow water permits and an additional seven deepwater permits.
"Any claim that my administration is responsible for gas prices because we've, quote unquote, shut down oil production, any claim like that is untrue," Obama said.
Industry representatives and congressional Republicans have said Obama has stalled drilling permits. Erik Milito, upstream director at the American Petroleum Institute, said in an e-mail yesterday that the administration "has been delaying, deferring or denying access to our oil and natural gas resources here at home."
Obama also suggested the administration may review plans to expand production areas offshore.
"We're also exploring and assessing new frontiers for oil and gas development from Alaska to the Mid- and South Atlantic," he said.
Obama also reaffirmed his support for nuclear power in the wake of the crisis in Japan, where authorities are struggling to deal with a crippled atomic plant and radioactive contamination following an earthquake and tsunami. Nuclear plants provide about 20% of U.S. electrical power.