There is “nearly twice as much oil as previously known” in many parts of the world, and this massive petroleum reserve should be tapped immediately to drastically reduce energy costs, says Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Writing in Investor’s Business Daily, Gingrich notes that scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) say there is oil and natural gas in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's coast.

They reckoned there could be as much as 157 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic alone.

“The natural gas discovery is also greater than all of the previously known reserves in the Arctic,” writes Gingrich.

“Last year the USGS had to increase its estimate of oil reserves in the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana by 2,500 percent. The area is now estimated to hold more than 4 billion barrels of oil.”

Gingrich observes that last fall the U.S. Congress responded to the calls for more American energy by lifting the ban on offshore drilling.

“For the first time in a quarter-century, it became legal to drill for more oil and natural gas reserves offshore,” writes Gingrich.

Gingrich said it is now time to move forward with drilling.

“Our energy future does not have to be dictated by OPEC or energy taxes on American businesses,” writes Gingrich.

“This runs contrary to what environmental extremists claim.”

But, many, including the Obama administration, do not agree.

The New York Times reports that the Department of the Interior has frozen oil and gas development on 60 of 77 new drilling sites in Utah.