U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Gilmore supports lifting the federal ban on offshore drilling, aligning himself with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

"Drill here, drill now and pay less," the Republican former governor said yesterday, referring to the United States. "This is our path to quickly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower prices."

Gilmore's Democratic opponent in the Senate race, former Gov. Mark R. Warner, plans to release details of his energy plan this morning at the Science Museum of Virginia.

"Governor Warner's energy solutions will offer a clear contrast with his U.S. Senate opponent's call to simply drill deeper for more oil in more places," Warner's campaign said in a statement.

As governor, Warner vetoed legislation that supported lifting the federal moratorium on offshore drilling.

Conservation and alternative energy sources should be part of a comprehensive plan, Gilmore said, but "immediate solutions" are needed to increase the production of American oil. He said recent studies estimate that about 86 billion barrels of untapped oil lie in restricted areas, including Virginia's coastline.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service says 430 million to 2.96 billion barrels of oil could lie off the mid-Atlantic coast from the Delaware-New Jersey state line to the North Carolina-South Carolina line. If that maximum estimate is correct, the area could have enough oil to supply U.S. needs for 144 days.

McCain supports lifting the federal ban but allowing states the choice to permit exploration.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine supports exploratory drilling for natural gas off the coast of Virginia but not for oil because of the environmental risks, said Gordon Hickey, Kaine's spokesman.
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this report.