WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama not to close areas off the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coastlines to oil and natural gas drilling.

Sea ice floats within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library. REUTERS/HANDOUT/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library

The Republican lawmakers asked Obama to allow a 5-year plan proposed at the very end of the Bush administration that would expand offshore drilling to go forward.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he would review the drilling proposal, along with other “midnight” Bush regulations.

“We respectfully urge that you allow the five-year offshore drilling plan to continue because it is vital to our economy,” the lawmakers, led by House Republican Leader John Boehner, said in a letter to Obama.

“Our country needs to remain on the path to American energy independence, and we believe this is a critical and achievable goal,” they said.

The preliminary plan drawn up by the Bush administration would authorize 31 energy exploration lease sales between 2010 and 2015 for tracts along the East Coast and off the coasts of Alaska and California.

Both presidential and congressional bans on drilling in most U.S. waters ended last year.

The lawmakers cited a study that concluded the untapped offshore oil and gas reserves would create more than 160,000 jobs by 2030 and provide the government with $1.7 trillion in royalties on the oil and gas drilled.

Obama has said he would be open to expanding offshore drilling areas as part of a comprehensive legislation to address America’s energy problems. But he has not provided details on what offshore tracts would be appropriate for energy exploration.

The Interior Department estimates that U.S. coastal waters hold 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that have yet to be discovered. It is possible U.S. offshore areas, which have not been explored in 25 years, could contain more oil and gas.