§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of energy supplies and the middle east in response to the events of 11 September; and if she will make a statement; [19768]
(2) what percentage of the UK oil supply comes from middle east countries; what percentage comes from each such country; which other countries supply the UK with oil; and if she will make a statement. [19766]
§ Mr. WilsonAlthough the UK is a net exporter of crude oil, significant quantities of particular grades of crude oil are imported for processing in UK refineries. The table provides the full detail requested. Of the total of 88 million tonnes of crude oil and refinery feedstocks processed in the UK during 2000, 44 per cent. was of crude oil from the UK sector of the North sea, 37 per cent. from the Norwegian sector, with crude oil from middle east countries accounting for 3 per cent. of total UK refinery throughput during the year. Of this, the majority came from Saudi Arabia.
In light of the events of 11 September I am keeping security of energy supplies under constant review. Despite the response of the coalition against terrorism to the tragedy in the US on 11 September there has been no impact on oil and gas supplies from the middle east or from elsewhere in the world. As mentioned above, the UK has a low reliance on the middle east as a source of oil supplies.
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UK imports of crude oil and refinery feedstocks in 2000 Country of origin Thousand tonnes As a percentage of total UK refinery intake Saudi Arabia 2,053 2.3 Syria 234 0.3 Other near and middle east 144 0.2 Total middle east 2,431 2.8 Norway 32,317 36.7 Russia 2,775 3.2 Egypt 1,412 1.6 Libya 1,362 1.5 Denmark 1,345 1.5 Estonia 1,331 1.5 Venezuela 1,092 1.2 Sweden 747 0.8 Mexico 729 0.8 France 654 0.7 Algeria 564 0.6 Netherlands 472 0.5 Belgium 323 0.4 Germany 276 0.3 Ireland 265 0.3 Lithuania 214 0.2 Switzerland 140 0.2 Other countries 936 1.1 Total imports 49,386 56.1 Source:
Data supplied to DTI by UK oil companies