The recent drop in oil prices is not likely to derail the push to develop shale oil deposits in the western United States, an oil executive says.

Despite sagging crude prices and growing concern about the amount of water used to extract oil from shale, energy companies are forging ahead to exploit reserves on federal lands that last month were opened to production.

"As long as we continue to be a nation that is hooked on liquid fuel, we need to look at anything we can do to tap the sources of energy in this country," Tracy Boyd, communications and sustainability manager at Shell Oil Co., told the Los Angeles Times.

The Times said while western states desire to cash in on the resource, they are alarmed at the large amounts of water that are pumped into the ground to crack open the shale rock that holds the oil.

"Considering the magnitude of this resource -- it is so huge relative to other hydrocarbon resources around the world -- it merits taking a look at trying any method we can, safely and responsibly, to get at it," said Boyd.