HOUSTON, March 12 (Reuters) -

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told a packed room of

energy executives on Wednesday that he wants their industries to

ramp up drilling and mining on America's public lands, telling

the crowd: "We love you!".

Burgum's comments to the CERAWeek energy conference in

Houston underscored President Donald Trump's agenda to unfetter

fossil fuels and metals production by slashing as much red tape

as possible.

"If we're going to drill, baby, drill, then we've got to

be asked to also mine, baby, mine," he told the crowd.

U.S. oil and gas production struck record highs under

the administration of former President Joe Biden, and it was

unclear if energy companies are keen to ramp up investment with

oil prices plumbing three-year lows.

Burgum said he believes the Trump administration can

unwind between 20% and 30% of the country's regulations, and

estimated that doing so could sharply cut the cost of producing

oil.

He added that speeding up energy and mining project

permitting would be a crucial focus of the administration's

National Energy Dominance Council, which he leads and which is

responsible for coordinating government policies to maximize

production.

Burgum said boosting U.S. electricity generation and

transmission capacity is key to winning what he called the "AI

arms race" with China.

Burgum added that he believes enforcing sanctions on

Iran, which are designed to bring the OPEC member's oil exports

to zero, could end that country's funding of "terror groups."