House Republicans aren’t ready to lavish praise on the Obama administration despite approval of the launch of Shell’s long-planned Arctic oil exploration off Alaska’s northern coast.

The Interior Department said Thursday that it’s allowing Shell to proceed with initial drilling in the Chukchi Sea, but isn’t letting the company drill into oil-bearing zones – yet.

“Interior’s announcement is a positive step, but it should not take six years to obtain a simple exploration permit and the Obama administration still has yet to issue the final green light for energy production in the Arctic,” said Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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