HL Deb 24 November 1971 vol 325 cc1001-2

2.55 p.m.

LORD KENNET

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, since October 21, they have initiated any discussion with other riparian States about the proposed construction of a 2. 1-acre artificial island in the high seas over the Ekofisk oilfield of the North Sea; and further, whether they are satisfied that its construction will be such as to resist damage in the event of collision, and that it will be so equipped with navigational warnings as to enable ships to avoid colliding with it.]

EARL FERRERS

My Lords, in addition to the informal discussions, which have been held with the appropriate Nonvegian authorities about developments in the North Sea, we have recently proposed that further talks should be held in the New Year at which we intend to cover, among other things, the specific items of concern to which the noble Lord's Question refers. Norway, as a party to the Continental Shelf Convention, is required to maintain permanent means of giving warning of the presence of such structures.

LORD KENNET

My Lords, will the Government bear in mind in these talks that sooner or later applications for similar structures on our side of the North Sea Continental Shelf are bound to be coming along, and that it will help them in deciding wisely on these applications if they have shown a constructive and strict interest in the Norwegian project beforehand?

EARL FERRERS

My Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that the Government are taking a keen interest in this project, and I would give him this reassurance. This is a new field on which everyone at the moment is embarking and we in this country are regarded as the leaders in so far as there is an Act, the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act, which permits Her Majesty's Government to make regulations regarding the safety and installation of these places.

LORD SHACKLETON

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether this is an appropriate matter for discussion with IMCO as well? If these islands are going to be dotted around Continental Shelfs, are there not important issues raised, and do not the existing conventions adequately provide for an artificial island of this size?

EARL FERRERS

My Lords, IMCO can be consulted where there is a question of traffic separation schemes. Where these islands are constructed in seas where the traffic lanes are heavily used then IMCO is a suitable forum for this to be discussed. I would reassure the noble Lord that this particular site is well away from the traffic lanes in the North Sea.