Fuel Policy (Hansard, 4 July 1967)

§ 10. Mr. Edwin Wainwright
asked the Minister of Power if, in view of the unstable situation in the Middle East and the action of the Arab countries in cutting off oil supplies to the United Kingdom, he will now give a general direction to the National Coal Board not to close any more pits; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is no further running-down of the coal mining industry.

§ 32. Mr. Rowland
asked the Minister of Power what reassessment he has made of the future levels of coal production in the light of current and possible future interruption of oil supplies from overseas.

§ 35. Mr. Alison
asked the Minister of Power to what extent the Government's future fuel policy has been re-examined in view of the uncertainty at present surrounding Middle Eastern oil supplies.

§ Mr. Marsh
In my review of fuel policy I am taking full account of all relevant considerations, including the adequacy and security of supplies and the 1552 pattern of primary fuel use at power stations.

§ Mr. Wainwright
Would my right hon. Friend not agree that the present restrictions upon oil supplies from the Middle East could either continue indefinitely or recur from time to time? Would he bear this in mind when he decides the part that coal could play in his energy policy for the future?

§ Mr. Marsh
Again, harking back to the point made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, there is nothing in the short period that one could do which would affect coal production, because oil-fired stations and other methods of burning are already in existence. As for dependence on the Middle East for security and supply, this is something which is always in the minds of people looking at this problem. It could not last indefinitely, if only because of the effect on the economies of those countries taking part. To give an example of the extent to which we are already diversifying our sources of supply, the Middle East used to supply three-quarters of our total in the 1950s, and it now supplies one half.

§ Mr. Alison
To what extent has the supply of natural gas from North Africa been interrupted, and how is the Minister bearing this in mind with a view to the gas industry contributing in the near future?

§ Mr. Marsh
There is a later Question on the Order Paper with regard to that.

§ Mr. McGuire
Would my right hon. Friend not agree that the lesson to be drawn from this is that our power stations, if they were to depend on oil, would jeopardise the economic prosperity of the country? Will he see that coal indigenously takes care of this, and that we do not depend upon foreign supplies when we can use our own?

§ Mr. Marsh
The problem here is that the bulk of our oil imports are for non-fuel uses, and in future the big increase in oil consumption will be in non-fuel uses, because there are so many parts of industry which are economically completely dependent on oil.

§ Sir G. Nabarro
Having regard to the fact that 75 per cent. of our oil imports 1553 are now in peril by the Arab oil cut-off and by the situation in Nigeria, and the fact that the Ministry is taking powers to ration oil in this country, would the right hon. Gentleman not now present his fuel policy before the House rises for the Recess at the end of this month so that we can judge the necessity for oil rationing?

§ Mr. Marsh
I do not think that anyone can draw a long-term fuel policy on the basis of a short-term interruption. What has happened in the Middle East is something which anyone who is interested in fuel always took into account. We are not at the present time short of oil. Rationing plans have only been introduced as a possible long-stop on this question. Our stocks are very high and we are constantly diversifying our sources of supply.